Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla Reveals Bengaluru as the Brightest City Visible from the International Space Station

Astronaut and Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla shared that Bengaluru appeared as the "brightest" and "most beautiful" city when the International Space Station (ISS) flew over India.

During an interactive session and felicitation ceremony organized by the Karnataka Department of Science and Technology at the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Shukla presented a video of a night pass over India from his ISS mission in June.

"Bengaluru city stands out as the brightest city in southern India, truly remarkable in the entire pass over the country," he explained to the audience.

While showing the night-pass footage captured from the spacecraft, he described their trajectory: "We are flying over India during a night pass, approaching from the southwest side of the Indian Ocean and heading northeast."

His comment about Bengaluru's brightness received enthusiastic applause from the local crowd when he stated, "The most beautiful sight during the entire India pass is Bangalore City."

The video presentation also revealed flashes of thunderstorms and lightning visible from space. Other prominent cities like Hyderabad and Pune could be seen clearly, along with Earth's curvature and an orbital sunrise.

"You can see the green glow showing Earth's curvature," Shukla explained. "Those flashes are thunderstorms. As India emerges into view, the brightest city in the south is Bangalore, with Hyderabad and Pune visible to the left."

The footage concluded with what Shukla described as one of the most breathtaking sights: "This is the sunrise... this is how an orbital sunrise appears when experienced from space."

Addressing students in the audience, Shukla emphasized that maintaining excellent physical and mental health alongside disciplined living could help them become future astronauts representing India. "Our country has a bright future ahead. I'm excited about all the possibilities India will provide, and you will be the beneficiaries," he encouraged.

Shukla also shared videos of his training for the Axiom-4 Mission and highlighted that the Gaganyaan Mission represents India's path toward achieving "world-class space capability." He humbly noted, "While I might appear as a hero today, my mission was made possible by thousands of engineers, doctors, and specialists. You could become any one of them."

The astronaut didn't shy away from describing space travel's challenges, including the difficulties of adapting to microgravity, the struggle to stand after returning to Earth, and the extreme G-forces astronauts must endure. "During emergencies, the spacecraft can exert 18-20 G's—it feels like an elephant sitting on your chest," Shukla revealed.

At the previous week's Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS), Shukla had made a lighthearted comment about the city's notorious traffic: "I traveled from Marathahalli on the other side of Bengaluru and spent twice as much time getting here as I'll spend on this presentation. That shows my commitment to being here."