BENGALURU: Travelling in space is easier than travelling through Bengaluru traffic, said Gaganyatri Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla during an interaction with students at the Jawaharlal Nehru planetarium on Tuesday.
Shukla recalled his statements made on November 20 at Bengaluru Tech Summit-2025 and said: "During my last interaction with students and people, what was highlighted the most was not my interaction but the time I took. That travelling in space was easier than navigating through Bengaluru traffic. Therefore this time I will not comment on Bengaluru's traffic. Lets move on from there."
The interaction at the planetarium was organised by Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru, and Karnataka Science and Technology Promotion Society, Department of Science and Technology, titled- Astronaut- Student Interaction.
Shukla answered students' questions on how oxygen is generated in space and how astronauts access washrooms in space. Shukla said there is a fixed oxygen resource in spacecrafts and it is recycled routinely. Currently, fighter aircrafts have onboard Oxygen Generation Systems, which is being studied so that it can be implemented in future space stations. Shukla, responding to a question on washroom in space crafts, said, Boeing is working on creating a toilet in space, but it has still not been done. He encouraged the students, saying one of you might be able to.
A question that caught Shukla's attention was, 'why do we need spacecrafts, why can we not use robotics and artificial intelligence?' Shukla responded that the challenge will be to see and preplan everything for robots. He added that the talent of humans to correct things immediately and think about 10 things at a time, cannot be done by robots and AI.
To a question on whether ISRO's cost-effective image will hamper future space missions, Shukla said: "I do not think being cost- effective is at the cost of safety of the astronauts and the mission. We are being cost-effective in terms of global standards. But that will not hinder the future of our missions."
To a query on medical emergencies in space, Shukla said: "A lot of training goes into various medical situations. But the only thing that you cannot do in space is dental treatment. Thus your teeth need to be good when going into space."
Around 550 students from 19 schools in Bengaluru, Kuhstagi and Hassan districts interacted and asked questions. They asked Shukla about how he prepares himself for these journeys, how he keeps himself motivated, what it takes to become an astronaut, how he handled his return to earth from space, details of his training, the difference between being an Indian Air Force pilot and an astronaut, and the need for space suits and robotics in space.
Shukla also made a presentation for the students on his journey and training for the Axiom-4 mission, where he was the mission pilot.
Primary Education Minister Madhu Bangrappa and Science and Technology Department Minister NS Boseraju were also present.
The interaction was cut short and the ministers rushed Shukla to Vidhana Soudha for an interaction and felicitation by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
