India’s Shubhanshu Shukla picks 'Yun Hi Chala Chal' song for Axiom 4 Mission launch day; check full playlist here

As India celebrates a historic space moment with Shubhanshu Shukla’s journey to the International Space Station (ISS), a lighter, more personal detail has caught the internet’s attention: the playlist astronauts chose for their big day.

Ahead of the successful liftoff of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday, Axiom Space shared a glimpse of the launch-day playlist featuring tracks picked by the crew, and Shukla’s choice struck an emotional chord with many.

The Indian astronaut, a 39-year-old fighter pilot and the second Indian ever to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma, chose ‘Yun Hi Chala Chal’ from the 2004 film Swades, a song known for its spirit of purposeful journeying and quiet determination.

The other astronauts also revealed their picks:

• Peggy Whitson, the mission commander and veteran astronaut, picked Thunder by Imagine Dragons.
• Slawosz Uznanski chose Supermoce (Superpowers), a Polish track.
• Tibor Kapu selected Buvohely, a Hungarian song.

The crew launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida early Wednesday morning, marking another milestone for India’s presence in space. Shukla, selected by ISRO, is flying as part of a commercial American space mission led by Axiom Space, making him the first Indian to do so.

Shukla, who embarked on a historic space odyssey for the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), has shared his first epic message for India. As he was launched into the space, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is also the pilot of the mission, greeted the nation with a “namaskar” and said, The Tricolour on his shoulder reminds him that his nation is with him in his flight to space.

“Namaskar, mere pyaare deshwasiyo…hum antrisksh mein pahoch gaye hain aur kamaal ki ride thi [Namaskar, my dear countrymen; we have reached space after 41 years. It was a great ride]” Shubhanshu Shukla said in his opening remark for India.