As NASA prepares for Artemis II — the first crewed mission to travel beyond low Earth orbit in more than five decades — Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla offered a rare perspective shaped by his experiences in the U.S. spaceflight ecosystem.
Shukla, an ISRO Gaganyatri and Indian Air Force officer, in an interview with NDTV talked about his interactions with astronauts preparing for future missions, including Artemis II, and the mindset that defines them.
Shukla’s own trip to space was on the 2025 Axiom-4 mission, a commercial spaceflight initiative conducted in partnership with NASA. The mission placed him in low Earth orbit, making him the only Indian so far to fly in a NASA-affiliated program.
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Training without the weight of history
Recalling his one-year training stint in Houston, Shukla said the environment was highly technical and left little room for thinking about the scope of the mission.
“You’re busy training. You don’t sit and think about how monumental something is,” he told NDTV.
He noted that during training, astronauts rarely approach their work with a sense of historical significance. Instead, they focus on systems, procedures and execution.
“They’re just human like you and me … laughing at the same things and worrying about the same things,” he said.
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What sets astronauts apart
At the same time, Shukla pointed out the basic quality that distinguishes astronauts from others.
“There’s something very powerful about them … a real sense of purpose and courage,” he said, adding that this inner drive is critical to mastering the demands of space missions.
Personal “Fan Moment”
Among the Artemis II crew, NASA astronaut Christina Koch made a strong impression on Shukla. Koch is set to become the first woman to travel beyond the moon.
Shukla recalled meeting her during a training session in an informal setting at the astronaut gym.
“It was a fanboy moment for me,” he said, describing how he asked her for a selfie – something he knew she rarely did.
Koch described her as “already a legend” given her past achievements and the milestone she is about to achieve with Artemis II.
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Mission beyond state borders
Artemis II is crewed by NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, along with Koch and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.
The four-person team will travel nearly 384,000 kilometers from Earth, becoming the first humans in more than 50 years to leave low Earth orbit.
According to Shukla, missions of this scale push the idea of representation.
“Once you leave the planet, there are no boundaries … you represent humanity,” he said.
Global attention and anticipation
Shukla said the mission is already attracting global attention and people across countries are watching the developments closely.
“People in different parts of the world are talking about Artemis… they’re talking about these four people,” he noted.
He added that while four individuals are involved in the mission, it has a wider symbolic weight.
“They’re four individuals making a journey, but in a sense they’re carrying the whole planet with them,” he said.
