NEW DELHI: Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla returned to India in the early hours of Sunday following his historic visit to the International Space Station (ISS).
Shukla, who spent the past year in the US training for the Axiom-4 mission, was warmly welcomed at the airport by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan. His backup astronaut, Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, also returned alongside him.
Shukla is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, visit his hometown Lucknow, and later return to Delhi to participate in National Space Day celebrations on August 22–23.
“India’s space glory touches Indian soil… as the iconic son of Mother India, #Gaganyatri Shubhanshu Shukla, lands in Delhi this morning,” Singh posted on X, noting that Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, India’s designated backup astronaut for the mission, accompanied him.
On Saturday, Shukla shared a smiling photo on Instagram from his flight back to India, reflecting on his emotions: “I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who became like family during this mission. I’m also excited to meet my friends, family, and everyone in the country for the first time post-mission… Having received incredible love and support, I can’t wait to share my experiences with all of you.”
He added a personal note, quoting his commander Peggy Whitson: “The only constant in spaceflight is change,” and referenced a song from Swades: “‘Yun hi chala chal rahi – jeevan gaadi hai samay pahiya,’ which was on my playlist just before embarking on the Axiom-4 mission.”
Shukla and Nair participated in Independence Day celebrations at the Indian Consulate in Houston on Friday. Prime Minister Modi, addressing the 79th Independence Day at the Red Fort, highlighted India’s space ambitions and Shukla’s mission: “Our Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has returned from the space station. In the coming days, he is returning to India.”
The Axiom-4 mission, which lifted off from Florida on June 25 and docked at the ISS on June 26, saw Shukla join astronauts Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary) to conduct over 60 experiments and 20 outreach sessions during the 18-day mission. Shukla returned to Earth on July 15.
