New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) was transformed into a launchpad of dreams, discovery, and dialogue as it hosted Walking Among the Stars: An Interaction with Astronauts, a landmark event that brought together International and national astronauts at IIT Delhi on May 8, 2025. The “crew” was comprised of Sirisha Bandla (USA/India), a commercial astronaut from Virgin Galactic’s Unity 22 mission; Angad Pratap (India), one of ISRO’s selected astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission; and Hazzaa Al Mansoori (UAE), the first Emirati astronaut and a veteran of an International Space Station mission.

Upon their arrival at IIT Delhi, the astronauts met Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi, and thereafter visited the Intelligent Robotic Teammate Lab at the R&I Park, where they engaged with students and researchers involved in cutting-edge R&D in language-guided autonomous manipulation, planning and reasoning, and human-machine interaction systems. They also highlighted the promising role of intelligent robots as teammates for astronauts in space exploration—supporting activities and experiments aboard space stations, as well as assisting with tasks on planetary surfaces in preparation for crewed missions.

A highlight of the event was a panel discussion with the astronauts, moderated by Prof. Awanish Pandey, from the Optics and Photonics Centre, IIT Delhi. The panel spanned topics from scientific experiments in orbit—such as gene expression in plants for climate resilience—to 3D printing of human tissues in microgravity. Sirisha Bandla shared how suborbital flights can accelerate science, while Hazza Al Mansoori described the emotional weight of looking back at Earth from the Cupola: “You see no borders—just one planet.”

Hazzaa Al Mansoori emphasized resilience: “Mental fitness matters more than physical. You can train your body. But handling uncertainty—that’s where astronauts are made.”

There were questions from the students of IIT Delhi about muscle fatigue in zero gravity, psychological design in spacecraft, and cross-sector collaboration. The astronauts opened their hearts discussing a range of issues including exercise regimens in orbit to partnerships between NASA, ISRO and commercial players like SpaceX and Virgin Galactic.

In a heartfelt moment, a student shared how a talk by Sirisha in 2019 had redirected her career toward physics. The astronaut replied, “It’s not a rejection—it’s a redirection. I got here by failing more than most people try.”

The day honored terrestrial brilliance with the National Space Hackathon 2025 awards, jointly organized by IIT Delhi and ISRO. With over 5,100 student registrations, the hackathon showcased India’s rising talent in aerospace problem-solving.

The winners were felicitated by Prof. Narayanan Kurur, Dean, Academics, IIT Delhi and Mr Sudeesh Balan, Director, Crew Training Simulators Group, Human Space Flight Centre, and the stellar team of astronauts.

The first prize was awarded to Team Galactic Hackers from Techno Main Salt Lake, West Bengal.

The second prize went to Team Monospace from Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, Maharashtra.

The third prize was awarded to Team Icybee from Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering, Maharashtra.

The event concluded with closing remarks by Prof. Shilpi Sharma, Associate Dean, Academics (Outreach and New Initiatives) who expressed heartfelt gratitude to the astronauts for sharing not only their experiences but also their vision and humanity. She extended thanks to ISRO, HSFC, and GLEX 2025 for their invaluable support.

Prof. Sharma also acknowledged the contributions of the Physics & Astronomy Club and Dev Club at IIT Delhi for their hard work and creativity in organizing the National Space Hackathon 2025. Concluding the event, Prof. Sharma stated, “This event has been a celebration of science, dreams, and collaboration. Thank you all for being a part of it.”

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