Mr. Manjunath Bhandary, Chairman, Bhandary Foundation had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with Mr. Rakesh Sharma, the Research Cosmonaut, India. Ms. Deeksha Bhandary had the opportunity of having an autograph of Mr. Rakesh Sharma.
Mr. Sharma was elected to travel into space as a cosmonaut being part of a joint programme by ISRO and the Soviet Intercosmos space programme. On April 2 in 1984, he made his flight aboard the Soyuz T-11 and became the first Indian to achieve this feat. He was conferred with the honour of the Hero of the Soviet Union upon his return from space. He was also felicitated with Ashoka Chakra by the Indian Government.