IIT Delhi Hosts Stellar Dialogue with Astronauts from India, USA, and UAE

IIT Delhi hosted a stellar dialogue featuring astronauts from India, the USA, and the UAE, bringing together global space pioneers to inspire and engage with the next generation of innovators.

IIT Delhi Hosts Stellar Dialogue with Astronauts from India, USA, and UAE

Walking Among the Stars: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi turned into a hub of inspiration and exploration as it hosted Walking Among the Stars: An Interaction with Astronauts, an event that brought together astronauts from India and abroad. The panel featured 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 upcoming Gaganyaan mission; and Hazzaa Al Mansoori (UAE), the first Emirati astronaut and a veteran of the International Space Station.

Upon arriving at IIT Delhi, the astronauts were welcomed by Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director of the institute. They later visited the Intelligent Robotic Teammate Lab at the Research & Innovation Park. There, they interacted with students and researchers working on cutting-edge advancements in language-guided autonomous manipulation, planning and reasoning, and human-machine interaction.

A key highlight of the event was an engaging panel discussion featuring the astronauts, moderated by Prof. Awanish Pandey from the Optics and Photonics Centre at IIT Delhi. The conversation explored a wide range of topics, from conducting scientific experiments in orbit, such as studying gene expression in plants for climate resilience, to the potential of 3D printing human tissues in microgravity.

Sirisha Bandla highlighted the role of suborbital flights in accelerating scientific discovery, while Hazzaa Al Mansoori reflected on the profound experience of viewing Earth from the Cupola aboard the ISS, remarking, “You see no borders—just one planet.” Hazzaa Al Mansoori emphasised resilience: “Mental fitness matters more than physical. You can train your body. But handling uncertainty—that’s where astronauts are made.”

National Space Hackathon 2025 Awards

The day also celebrates innovation on Earth with the National Space Hackathon 2025 awards, jointly organised by IIT Delhi and ISRO. Attracting over 5,100 student registrations, the hackathon showcased India’s emerging talent in addressing real-world aerospace challenges.

The winners were felicitated by Prof. Narayanan Kurur, Dean of Academics at IIT Delhi; Sudeesh Balan, Director of the Crew Training Simulators Group, Human Space Flight Centre; and the distinguished astronaut panel.

Team Galactic Hackers from Techno Main Salt Lake, West Bengal, clinched the first prize. Team Monospace from Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, Maharashtra, secured second place, while Team Icybee from Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering, Maharashtra, was awarded third.

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