"I know we can do it. But I do not know whether we should do it," was the instant response of India's first cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma when asked whether the country should embark on a manned space flight mission. Sharma, who was part of the joint Indo-Soviet (former) manned space flight programme in April 1984, was speaking at IIT-B's TechFest, whose theme this year is space.

BCCL

The government is yet give an approval for a manned space flight programme, which is expected to cost about Rs 12,400 crore, though Isro has said it is is ready for the mission.

He emphasized that India should undertake the programme only if there is a path-breaking technology. "Unless it is done in an efficient way, there is no point in merely sending crew up there just for the sake of it, and because somebody else has undertaken something like that," he told a packed hall at the institute.

The view, however, reflects a change of stance as all along, he had been maintaining that if India fails to undertake a manned programme, the country's status as an emerging global space power will be eroded. On whether if he would want to go back to space, he said "yes", while stressing that he will fly as a tourist. "Last time, I was busy every minute, so I missed the beauty of space," he said.

BCCL

"Space is a great place to visit but not to work. The number of actions needed to complete a task in space increases as compared to earth," he observed.

Answering a question on how the 1984 space flight had affected him, he said: "Psychologically, it has not left any deep impression. I took it as a job and was not over-awed. Yes, I was over-awed by the scenario outside," he said, adding that he was happy to be chosen for the mission. "It was a culmination of my career," he said. On space flights, he said the crew does not get jet-lagged despite there being a sunrise and sunset every 45 minutes because the body clock remains the same as it was at the time of launch.