00:19:31 · Aditya Agarwal, Shubhanshu Shukla
[00:19:31] S1: What about cognitively? I mean, so far, have described some of the the emotional kind of, like, sensations that you get being out in space. Obviously, some of the physical changes, which, by the way, I think it's... This kinda reminds you how much more malleable our bodies are than we kinda realize. Right? Like, our bodies are not kind of, like, fixed. Like, even in short stints in different environments and systems, our bodies can adapt very quickly. But coming back to cognitively, I'm assuming that there's just more background cognitive processing happening because you're in a different environment when obviously things that are happening in the fast thinking part of your brain, now you have to actually slow down and kind of like actually do more consciously, whether they be moving around or understanding in some ways a z axis kind of like floating around and so on. But what is kind of the cognitive experience? Do you feel there's more blood going to your brain? Does that mean that you're actually in some ways flushed with kind of like, in some ways, more processing power? [00:20:31] S0: It would be great if that was the case, but it isn't so more fluid means it is a permanent kind of a congestion in your head. And there is a space fog, the term that is given is known as space fog, but it is a sort of confusion that is there in the initial few days. Even the things that you know how to do, you become slow at them. [00:20:55] S1: Because your brain is swollen Actually, up a little
00:20:59 · Shubhanshu Shukla
[00:20:59] S0: a lot of things are happening right now. It is not just the fluid shift. Your balance system, all the inputs that go to your brain, all the sensory inputs that go to your brain, they are all haywire now. Because there is something known as an otolith organ inside your inner ear, along with the semicircular canals which are responsible for your balance orientation. So, the otoliths have got follicles which are always vertical due to gravity on earth. And when you get up to microgravity, they are not vertical anymore, and it just changes the datum completely. So, it becomes very disorienting. And also, you are seeing things for the first time. It is very hard to explain, but it is very disorienting initially. So we went and we docked on the top of the ISS, you know, that was the port that we went. And the ISS is a long structure, it's a tube, kind of modules connected together. So when the first time you come down and you always have to move head first so that you don't, you know, plug out a wire by kicking with your legs, So, you always come head down. So, I remember when I came head down the first time and I was looking into the depth of that modules connected together, it is like standing on a building at the edge and then turning 90 degrees on that edge of the building. So, the sensation that you get, you will fall, right? That's exactly the same sensation was there. You won't fall. Everything is falling in space. That is why you are not experiencing gravity. But that sensation is so strong that you want to grab onto So, these things are very strong initially when you get up there. The concept of space, you know, we are sitting here in a three-dimensional room, but we are not actually three-dimensional. We are restricted to floors. We are not hanging by the ceiling or sticking to the wall here. But this is possible in space. But your brain has to get used to this concept. So, cognitively, you're not yet there. So, I remember, second day, I wanted to cross a module, the lab, and there was a NASA astronaut who had set up an experiment right in the centre of the module. And I looked at her, in my mind, I had no space. So I was waiting to cross, I did not cross. There was this other astronaut who was passing by and she asked me because she saw that I am not doing anything, just waiting. She said, Shukla, what are you doing?
00:23:10 · Shubhanshu Shukla
And I said that I need to cross, but I can't because she is in the way. And she started laughing. She held my hand, she took me to the ceiling and said, Walk here. And that is the time that flip happens, you know, that this, this, I can do this, you know, I can walk on the ceiling, I can walk on the walls. So it takes time for your mind to get adjusted to these new concepts, you know, when you go there, because this is different, you've never seen this. So it takes some time, and once you do this, the flip happens. You know, it is something like, I don't know, the example that I can give you that the first time that I was doing the 10 meter jump from the diving pool, I didn't know how to do this, you know, but it was mandatory and I had to do. So, I just jumped first time. I was scared, but I jumped. And when you jump the first time, then you know exactly how it feels. So, I was more scared the second time, but I knew how it would feel, you know. That is the shift that happens, but you have to do it once for the flip to happen, for your brain to register, Okay, this is how it feels. So many such things happen when you reach there. Initial few days, it is a cognitive overload for your brain just to get used to this new environment or this new concept of what space is, you know, what does absence of gravity mean in a lot of ways? So I think the initial few days are for adjustment and your workload is also designed accordingly. It is not very heavy, so that you get used to these changes that your body and your brain are going through before your days are packed with activities.
00:24:40 · Aditya Agarwal
[00:24:40] S1: Okay. So you get up with space. You're kind of, like, getting, like, you know, you're on a total spiritual journey. You're kind of, like, getting the oval effect. Your brain's bloated. Your your mind is kind of, like, you know, to deal with all of these things. So it's obviously a very new foreign environment across all of these different axes of the human experience. I'm also curious, like, when you go up there, do you feel an immense sense of responsibility? Like, is there some amount of nervousness? It's like, man, like, humanity shot me into space. Very few people have come all the way here. I gotta do these experiments that people told me to do. I better not screw it up. You know? Like, is there that loop kinda going through your head, or is there... Or are you kind of, like, pretty chill about the whole thing? Because you're like, listen. I made it. What are they gonna do? Take me back? I'm in space now.
00:25:35 · Shubhanshu Shukla
[00:25:35] S0: I think it personal is question, because it's not a trait of the, or the attribute of the journey itself, it is a personality based question, you know, how do you think or how do you feel? But the semantics of it, design of the question is, of course, there is responsibility. I understand that I am only the second Indian to go to space in forty one years. There is a huge responsibility. And being the one in a population of 1,400,000,000, the odds are immense. So, of course, there is a lot of responsibility, there is a lot of pressure, and if you let that pressure come on to you, it is crippling. You won't be able to do anything. It is going to make you anxious, it is going to make you nervous, and all these things. So, the way I deal with it is, I don't think about it. What do you have to do right now? What is the task at hand? What is the next experiment or what is the next activity? Go ahead and do that as best as you can. And I think most of the times if you do that, you would be very good at it because you have trained for it, you have prepared for it, you will do well. But if you let that overpower you, then it becomes very crippling. But there are moments, you know, it happens. So I... It was the second day or the third day that I was supposed to speak to the Prime Minister from space. And I changed into my flight suit because that was a uniform for the interaction, and I again floated down and I was crossing the module where the interaction was supposed to happen, and somebody had prepared that area, you know, the Indian flag was hung on the background. And I was just passing through and I heard on the radio, the radio check was being done and Hindi was being spoken for the first time on the ISS. And so, Hindi was being spoken and you saw the flag in the background and that was the moment, you know, it hit me suddenly. What is happening? And in those few minutes, you have to get back and just tell yourself that it's okay. This is just a normal conversation. I had to tell myself that 10 times, this is just a normal conversation. It is just speaking to a controller on ground, like something like that, so that you are able to do it normally. Otherwise, I wouldn't have said a word, just frozen there and imagining what is happening.
00:27:43 · Shubhanshu Shukla, Aditya Agarwal
But yes, that was one very powerful moment for me as well, that it just you know, kind of reminded me that what is happening. This is not real. This is just too rare for this to happen because this was the first time that both these things were happening. So I think that was one of those moments where I really felt it that this is a big deal. [00:28:02] S1: It's a pretty cool moment. [00:28:04] S0: Yes. It's pretty sweet. It was. [00:28:05] S1: Yeah. Just a normal conversation, man. [00:28:13] S0: I I I did have a sip of water.