"Humans have learned how to survive in space": Indian cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma

New Delhi [India], August 13 : Speaking at the "Youth Sabha 2047: Shaping India's Future" event on International Youth Day on Monday, Rakesh Sharma India's first Astronaut said that humans have learned how to survive in space.
Rakesh Sharma said, "Well, it's with a certain amount of nostalgia, because I'm reliving that through the Gaganyaan project, and I can easily see what the current crop of astronaut designates, how they are preparing, and think back on how it used to be during our time, there have been differences, of course. We trained in Russia in a different language, in a different time zone, and in a different latitude. Humans have learned how to survive in space."
He further said that conditioning the human body to prepare for space flight has remained the same and space is an extension of military aviation.
"The next milestone is going to be when you are going to go and colonise the moon. How are you going to adjust to that environment, which is so different to what is available on Earth? So you will have to replicate and create that environment. There are going to be many challenges in creating that kind of environment and a safe environment where humans can survive. We will wait and see how that happens. It's not as easy as it's made out to be. There are a lot of technical challenges which will have to be overcome," he added.
Recently Indian cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma celebrated the 40th anniversary of becoming the first Indian to reach outer space on board the Soviet Rocket Soyuz T-11.
On April 3, 1984, Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to go into space as a member of a joint Soviet-Indian crew on the Soyuz T-11 spacecraft. He spent a week working at the Salyut-7 Orbital Station.