From Launch To Landing: Astronaut's Space Diary For India's "Gaganyatri"

As India prepares to send its second astronaut, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 Crew Dragon, the insights of veteran astronaut Thomas Pesquet offer invaluable perspective. Group Captain Shukla will be part of a crew that will include Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary for the June 8 Axiom Mission 4.

Mr Pesquet, who has flown to space twice and spent over a year aboard the ISS, shared his experiences and advice for Captain Shukla in an exclusive interview with NDTV.

"Well, first, going into space on a rocket is very impressive, obviously. It's a sensory experience," Mr Pesquet said. "Just getting on the elevator to get on top of the rocket, you get an appreciation of the size of those machines. You only see them from a distance, but when you see them from up close, they're as tall as several different buildings, like put on top of one another. And then you get on top, you look down, you see the cars that brought you. They're very, very small."

Mr Pesquet, a veteran European Space Agency (ESA) described the moments leading up to launch as calm and quiet, with final checks and fuelling of the rockets. "Then you hear the countdown and you blast into space. Almost nine minutes of acceleration, very dynamic, and then it stops. You're weightless, you're floating around the Earth. It becomes so smooth. It's like you're floating in a cloud, like in your dreams."

Acknowledging the inherent risks, Mr Pesquet emphasised the controlled nature of space travel. "You have a lot of speed, a lot of altitude, a lot of chemical energy with all that propellant. So yeah, it is risky, but it's controlled. You know, all the engineers at different space agencies make sure that it's very safe."

Having flown both the Soyuz and Falcon 9 systems, Mr Pesquet noted the differences. "First of all, same principles, right? Space is the same. The physics is the same. Escape velocity remains the same. I'd say the Soyuz is from earlier times, and the Falcon is more modern. So you've got digital screens, it's very sleek, and Soyuz is more from the 70s. But actually, I like Soyuz a lot as well, because the reliability is very, very high. They have many different systems, many different backups, and it's not as comfortable as the Dragon. It's smaller, it's more cramped, but it feels good to fly both."

Mr Pesquet shared his preference for the Dragon due to its roominess, especially given his height. "Honestly, for my knees, because I'm a little bit tall. And having my knees folded in the Soyuz was very painful, because you're strapped really tightly in your seat for a long time before launch and after launch. So I think the Dragon was roomier."

Docking at the ISS is a precise operation, Mr Pesquet explained. "You have to be very, very precise. Those are vehicles that are flying at 28,000 kilometres per hour, roughly. And you have to control their relative velocity in a very, very tight manner so that you don't impact one with the other. From the crew's perspective, you've been launched, you see the emptiness, the vastness of space, and then you see your targets, you're getting close, and then you realise how big and huge the space station is. It's really magical. It's like a castle in the sky."

Entering the ISS after docking is a momentous occasion. "It actually takes a lot of time once you've docked to do the second mechanical link. First of all, it's just a small docking, then you have to equalise the pressure. You wait for the temperatures as well to settle. It takes a lot of time to do all the checks, sometimes 45 minutes, an hour, or an hour and a half, and then you can finally open the hatch. You hear your colleagues, they're knocking on the other side of the hatch. That's how you communicate. Knock, knock, knock, and then you answer. And eventually you open and you enter a new world."

Life aboard the ISS is a unique experience, Mr Pesquet noted. "Life in weightlessness is not hugely complicated, but it's different. You have to relearn how to do simple things like sleeping, doing your hygiene or eating. Everything floats, right? Everything is in free fall. That's weightlessness. And so you cannot put anything on the table. It would float again. You cannot put your spoon on the table. It would float away. So everything comes with Velcro. And sometimes we even put tape on the table so that it sticks."

Eating in space requires adaptation, he said. "All the food is in cans or in pouches or dehydrated foods. And then you prepare your food like you would a meal. You're asking your crew members what they feel like eating. Sometimes you prepare for them. Sometimes they prepare for themselves. And then you have your own spoon. Eat your food. Always hold your packet, your pouch. And if you stick it, you have to make sure it sticks. And the beginners at the beginning, it's always fun to see them eat because it's hard to control. Things like rice. I mean, imagine rice. It goes everywhere. And then, as they're trying to catch the bits of rice floating away, they send even more rice away. So sometimes there's a bit of a catastrophe. But you know, that's how you learn."

Mr Pesquet described the daily routine aboard the ISS, which includes shared meals and individual portions. "We start the day at the same time. We finish the day at the same time. Usually, the lunch break can vary between everybody's different schedules. So it's more like the evening meals that we share together. But the portions are individual. The packaging is always individual, so that you can cook your own can or your own pouch. And then somebody else can choose something else to eat. So at least once a day, we make a point to be all together to cook different types of meals that we share."

Hygiene in space is another area of adaptation. "There's no running water, obviously. So we use wipes, wet wipes, and dry wipes. We also have wet towels. Put a bit of soap, put some water on the towel, and then you can wash yourself. No showers, no bathtub, no spa. Very rough conditions."

Mr Pesquet reassured that despite the lack of showers, astronauts remain clean. "You're actually very clean. It was one of the questions I had. I thought, hmm, you must be pretty dirty when you come back, but you're not. First of all, because there's much less dust and perspiration and things in the air, it's much more controlled. So it's a clean environment. And second, also because you're wiping yourself with wet towels and etc., works really well."

Sleeping in space requires adjustment. "We've got some bunks, some crew quarters. It's like a telephone booth size. You stick your sleeping bag on the wall pretty much. But you could sleep anywhere on the space station. You could sleep on the floor. You can sleep upside down. You just need a bungee to bungee you against the wall, and then you'll be fine. It takes some getting used to because you have to really let go of all your articulations. Your head won't be resting against anything like it does on the bed."

Mr Pesquet offered advice to Captain Shukla as he prepared for his mission. "Trust your training, because sometimes, you know, it's still an unexpected environment that you haven't been in. So trust your training, like you've been doing your whole life. Do the right thing. Keep calm. If things don't go the way it's expected-its space, you know, it doesn't always cooperate. Enjoy the ride. Try to make yourself some good memories. Look at the Earth, take pictures of your activities, of your crewmates, and it's going to go superfast. So be really conscious in trying to imprint those memories on your brain, because you're going to need them when you come back."

Mr Pesquet also had a message for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India. "Be part of the mission. Make sure that Shukla is supported, which I think is the case by the government, by ISRO, by the entire population. It's going to be a huge wave of national pride and hopefully happiness."