Lucknow: Every day, like clockwork, a single phone call from the other side of the world changes everything for Asha Shukla. And it will continue till 10 June when her son, IAF group captain Shubhanshu Shukla, blasts off into space on the Axiom 4 Mission.
“How are you? What are things like these days in Lucknow?” Shukla unfailingly asks his mother in every video chat. He’s been training in Houston for the last nine months and is now in quarantine ahead of the mission.
Back home, his mother has taken her own crash course in science, finding answers to questions such as how many hours it will take him to reach space, what activities he will be doing there, and how he is going to sleep there. She wants to know it all—taking notes from conversations with people, watching YouTube explainers, and asking questions. She is a proud mother and refuses to let his journey begin without understanding every bit of it.
“He left this home when he was 16. It was a difficult time for me back then. Now, when he is leaving the Earth, it is a difficult time again. But this time, I am a little less worried because I know he is capable of everything that is required to complete this mission,” said Asha, sitting in her drawing room, as a life-size cutout of her son in his Air Force uniform is propped up behind her.
Shukla is part of the four-member team going to space in Axiom Mission 4, a collaboration between NASA and SpaceX. The mission is led by veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson and will launch from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex in Florida. Shukla is the pilot and second-in-command. Once at the International Space Station, he will conduct seven experiments designed by Indian research institutions.
Shukla is also part of India’s first manned mission from home soil called Gaganyaan, which is scheduled for 2027.
He left this home when he was 16. It was a difficult time for me back then. Now, when he is leaving the Earth, it is a difficult time again. But this time, I am a little less worried.
– Asha Shukla, mother
He has been training in Houston for the Axiom 4 launch for nearly a year. He will be the second Indian to go to space and the first one to go to the International Space Station. And Lucknow is filled with pride, passion and patriotism. The city is decked up with posters wishing him luck. Huge cutouts of Shukla in his Air Force uniform look over passersby on every street. His face is on every wall, balcony and even the rear windshield of a parked car. He is unmissable. The posters have become signposts of aspiration for the youth in the city. And for the older residents, he has become the city’s son, they are overjoyed to flaunt his success as their own.
“This last year has been nothing short of transformative. I don’t even have the words to describe how excited I am. It’s been an incredible journey so far, but I know the best is yet to come,” said Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla.
He was speaking at a pre-launch media interaction hosted by Axiom Space.
“As I go into space, I’m not just carrying instruments and equipment—I’m carrying the hopes and dreams of a billion hearts. I ask all Indians to keep us in their prayers.”
Accidental career
Shubhanshu Shukla didn’t decide to become an Air Force officer. It was “accidental”. His family wanted him to write the UPSC exams. But before he began preparations, a friend brought him a form to apply for the National Defence Academy exam. He had passed the age cut-off and didn’t want the form to go to waste. He kept it a secret from his family until the results were announced.
“It was his friend who said, ‘You got into NDA, brother.’ He told us he had to go to Dehradun for seven days. We were not in favour of him going, and he was also not sure—so he just said, ‘I’ll go and visit the place’,” his father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, a retired government servant, said.
That was in 2001. He has been living away from home ever since. After the NDA, he joined the Air Force in 2006. After postings in Bhuj, Jodhpur, Srinagar and more, he became a test captain in 2018. In the same year, he appeared for ISRO’s first round of tests for Ganganyaan. He was one of the four people selected in 2019 for the historic project.
“It’s true that we didn’t want him to get into NDA, but his hard work and discipline have brought him here. He was an intelligent and smart kid from the beginning,” said Asha.
His family says Shukla has transformed his life. Health and fitness are his biggest priorities. Asha said he used to love the snacks she made, but now he has completely cut out oil and sugar.
“Whenever he comes to our home, he never touches sweets. Cheat days don’t come to him that easily,” said Dr BM Mishra, Shukla’s father-in-law.
Shubhanshu Shukla married Kamna in 2009. The couple call Bengaluru home, but for the past year, their lives have been split across continents. Kamna is currently in the US with Shukla.
Mishra, who lives a few kilometres away from the Shukla home, has been trying to make a trip there for the last few days. But the family has been busy entertaining well-wishers and journalists in the lead up to Axiom 4’s launch. Mishra finally made his way there on Friday morning. Their meeting was dominated by nostalgia.
“When I took him to pre-school, the teachers said that he was too smart for pre-school and should go into nursery school. So we got him admitted to nursery,” said Dayal, remembering a young Shukla.
Dayal wasn’t even finished when Mishra interjected to talk about how Shukla never loses his cool.
“One time, my wife was with them [Shukla and Kamna] in Bengaluru. They left for dinner, and she stayed home and slept. When they came back and called her, she didn’t respond or open the door for almost 30 minutes, but Shubhanshu didn’t panic. He called the security and had them climb through the window to open the door. He handled the situation very well,” said Mishra.
Shukla’s sister, Suchi Mishra, has become his de facto public relations manager. She’s the one coordinating with the media and putting up banners of her brother on the house and street.
“He was the youngest, and we used to fight a lot—mostly over things like how we studied the whole year and still didn’t do as well as he did just by studying a day before the exam,” said Suchi.
Beaming with pride, Suchi added that young people in the city idolise Shukla.
“Those who are preparing for exams are coming to our home to take blessings from my parents, saying that it could help them chase their dreams.”
Symbol of aspiration
Twenty-four-year-old Anup Mishra lives one street away from the Shukla house in Lucknow. He is preparing for a railway government job. He had read about Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla in the newspaper, but when he saw the posters of Shukla on the street, he felt like he was part of something bigger.
“I have never seen someone this inspiring, who made a name not just for the neighbourhood for our country too. It has given me a different kind of energy,” said Anup. “It reminds me that if you stay disciplined, anything is possible. Now, when I get tired of studying, I think of him.”
Shukla’s two-storey home in a narrow lane in Lucknow’s Triveni Nagar has become akin to a pilgrimage spot, with people from neighbourhoods all over the city coming to take blessings from the Group Captain’s parents. Giant cut-outs of him in a navy-blue astronaut suit dominate the scenes of the street. In that photo, he looks confident, crossing his arms and the Indian flag patch visible on his shoulder. A big banner hangs on the boundary walls. It reads “SHUX – India’s First Astronaut to the International Space Station”.
It is important to teach my kids [about Shukla], that’s how they learn. Who knows, maybe one day there will be such posters of my kids.
– A neighbour
Another hoarding stretches across the first floor, showing the ISS and a rocket with the message “We wish you all the best for the success of your Axiom 4 Mission.” These celebratory visuals are in high demand.
“Send this person to my home also. Such banners should be posted at my home also, after all, he is my son-in-law,” said Dr Mishra.
Everyone who crosses the house has a ritual—stop, click a picture with the posters, and proudly say “Poore mohalle ka naam roshan kar diya” (He has made the entire neighbourhood proud).
One of the passersby was a woman in a blue sari, walking with her two kids to the grocery store. She pauses in front of the poster and explains who the man in uniform is.
“It is important to teach them, that’s how kids learn. Who knows, maybe one day there will be such posters of my kids,” she said.
Those who are preparing for exams are coming to our home to take blessings from my parents, saying that it could help them chase their dreams.
– Suchi Mishra, sister
As she walks past the house, her children bombard her with questions about the man who’s going to space. They’re not the only ones with questions. Shukla’s family has memorised factsheets and FAQs related to their son’s mission. The current hot topic is the delay.
Axiom 4, which was earlier scheduled for 29 May and postponed to 8 June, will now take flight on 10 June at 5:52 pm IST.
“It’s supposed to be a 40-hour journey, but now it will just take eight hours. There are multiple reasons behind it. The Earth keeps moving, and there are plenty of changes that keep happening in space,” said Asha, with the ease of a scientist.
Superhero dad
Shubhanshu Shukla’s six-year-old son, Kiyash, is his biggest fan. Nicknamed Sid, he is currently in the US, awaiting the launch. It’s Kamna and Kiyash’s third visit in the past year. And he’s made quite an impression on Axiom 4’s crew.
In a pre-launch media interaction organised by the US-based space company Axiom Space, Shukla’s colleague, mission specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary, said Sid was the most excited when the zero-G indicator—a plushie that helps provide visual cues to astronauts to confirm if they have entered zero gravity conditions—was being decided for the mission.
“He is a big wildlife fan. Any animal you talk about, he would have some interesting facts to add,” Kapu said.
Joy, a mini swan plushie, was finally chosen to be the mission mascot.
The Shukla family added that Sid is obsessed with dinosaurs and Marvel characters.
“He not just loves them, he is a pujari of them. But for now, his favourite superhero is his father,” said Asha, showing a picture of her grandson watering the plants.
Kiyash’s innocent admiration keeps the family grounded, even as they prepare for the uncertainties that space missions often bring.
There is no fear among the family—only excitement. They’ve followed Sunita Williams’ journey, which was extended from days to months. But they aren’t scared of such possibilities.
“Such examples make us feel good—that if she has done it, then Shubhanshu can do it too. We aren’t worried if his stay gets extended. It will be fine,” said Asha.
Suchi added that astronauts take pride when their stay in space gets extended.
“They get more time to do other things there. They have a very tight and busy schedule. So this is not a matter of fear but of pride.”
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)