NEW DELHI: Shubhanshu Shukla hailed the Artemis II launch on Thursday which sent 4 astronauts around the Moon, while recalling his humbling experience of “standing on those very grounds for the first time”.“I remember standing on those very grounds for the first time, feeling humbled by what it represents. It is the same ground from which Neil Armstrong began humanity’s first journey to the Moon. The same place where Peggy Whitson, the most experienced American astronaut and my commander, launched on her first mission to space. And today, it becomes the starting point for yet another chapter in our shared story of exploration,” he said in a post on X.Hailing the Nasa mission, he said, “After 54 years, four astronauts have once again commenced their journey around the Moon, a moment that feels both historic and deeply personal. Today, they launched aboard the Space Launch System from Kennedy Space Center , a place where the weight of history is almost tangible.”“During my own training, I had the privilege of watching these astronauts prepare for this mission, and even meeting two of them personally. To see them now on the cusp of such a remarkable journey is both inspiring and moving. As they lift off, they do so not just as individuals, but as representatives of all humanity. Their mission carries the hopes and dreams of people across the world. I wish them courage, success, and safe passage, knowing that all of us are looking up, rooting for them every step of the way,” he added.The Artemis II crew comprises Nasa astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, alongside Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Together, they are undertaking a roughly 10-day mission that will take them around the Moon and back, venturing farther into space than humans have traveled in decades. Following nearly three years of intensive preparation, this team becomes the first to fly under Nasa’s Artemis programme, an initiative launched in 2017 to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon and pave the way for future deep-space exploration. The mission also represents a major milestone for Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket that has been in development for over a decade.
