Subhanshu Shukla sent out a message to fellow Indians who have got for themselves a taste of space with the Indian origin astronauts Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams, Namaskar he said, and drew pride and applause from the country. Slated to complete over 60 experiments during his time in space his flight is said to speed up India’s space missions to follow. While it is thrilling to be in space, the need for such programs are always questioned. His 14-day visit to space will not be the first from India, but will be the second with Rakesh Sharma being the first man in space.
As we waited for the space ride in a local theme park I wondered that the love for space programs is embedded in the human DNA as my 7 year old’s eyes light up every time one makes a mention of space. The idea of reaching out to the far beyond, in an anti-gravity environment is one for the future or should I say present. While Elon Musk has been running a very successful space program company, the way he works requires a special mention. Talking to a relative who worked real close with Musk in SpaceX his love for working with first principles is quite a winning point.
Breaking frontiers or finding new frontiers is quite the way forward to keep the world enthused and happening so so say the same. Never a dull day in the world is just an understatement for how it can never be a dull day in space either. Man on earth may well be the man in space, even if that means he’s a tad bit lighter with the lack of gravity. Cheers to India’s future space programs, its a program that lights me up too. Just visuals of the Mangalyaan in space had be covered in goosebumps!
Vedasri Siddamsetty 