India, Aug. 25 -- LUCKNOW Astronaut and Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Monday urged students to strive for the vision of landing on the moon by 2040, and in a lighter vein, warned them they may have "competition" in store for the coveted spots on the crewed mission.

"I am going to be in competition!...so work hard and we will compete together. Let's see who goes to the Moon in 2040," he said, eliciting peals of laughter from the young crowd at his alma mater, City Montessori School (CMS) in Lucknow. He addressed more than 2500 students and answered queries of a few of them. The astronaut was joined by his father, Shambhu Shukla and mother, Asha Shukla, on the stage. His wife, son and in-laws were also present when he...