Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is visiting a home away from Earth that has seen continuous human presence for a quarter of a century and is floating around 400 kilometres above Earth. 

For most millennials, the idea of humans living and working in space has been a constant reality. Since November 2000, the International Space Station (ISS), a football-field-sized laboratory orbiting 400 kilometres above Earth, has hosted a continuous human presence. But beyond the awe of astronauts floating in microgravity, the ISS has quietly become one of the most important biological laboratories in human history.

In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, influential NASA biologist Dr Sharmila Bhattacharya shared how two decades of biological research aboard the ISS are not only preparing us for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars but also transforming our understanding of human health on Earth.