New Delhi, May 20: Group Captain Shubhashu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), continues to share his extraordinary experiences in space with fans. After successfully completing an 18-day mission in 2025, Shubhashu has returned to India and recently posted an intriguing photo on Instagram, showcasing himself hanging from the ceiling of an ISS module.
He clarified that there is no definitive up or down in the ISS; rather, astronauts collectively decide which direction to consider as what. In his Instagram post, he wrote, “In orbit, the meaning of direction completely changes. Due to the absence of gravity, terms like ‘up’, ‘down’, and ‘floor’ become nothing more than distant memories.”
Shubhashu explained that in space, you find yourself in positions that might raise eyebrows if you were on Earth. Recalling an amusing incident from his early days, he mentioned, “In the initial days at the station, my mind was stuck in the habit of walking on a floor, even though there wasn’t a proper floor. Once, while waiting to pass through a module, an experienced astronaut grabbed my hand and led me to the ceiling, saying, ‘Come here.’”
At that moment, Shubhashu realized that in space, direction is merely a matter of mutual agreement. He shared the photo of himself hanging from the ceiling, noting that while it turned out well, the one he took himself was even better.
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