India's Space Renaissance: A New Era in Exploration

In an inspiring message to children, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, fresh from a historic mission to the International Space Station, declared that India is experiencing a 'golden period' in space exploration. He urged the younger generation to prepare for India's ambitious goal of sending a human to the moon by 2040. Addressing a crowd at his felicitation ceremony in Lucknow, Shukla stated, 'This is our golden period for space exploration. We will soon have a human in the Gaganyaan mission, establish the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, and by 2040, a person will set foot on the moon.'

Reflecting on the success of his mission, Shukla received a warm welcome upon arriving in Lucknow, where he humorously shared that he had posed for over 2000 selfies. The ceremony, organized by the UP government, highlighted his contributions. Shukla emphasized the breakthrough in micro-gravity research achieved through successful mission experiments, declaring it a significant accomplishment beyond scientific data.

Shukla also expressed confidence that ISRO would soon gain international recognition. Comparing to two years ago when India observed 'National Space Day' for the first time, he stated, 'With the excitement this time, I believe people will soon talk about ISRO instead of NASA.' ISRO Chairman V Narayanan echoed this sentiment, detailing India's burgeoning role in launching foreign satellites and highlighting a successful mission modification that prevented a potential disaster. The event underscored India's rapid advancements in space technology and its growing global stature.

(With inputs from agencies.)