Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla has successfully returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). He successfully completed the Axiom-4 mission and safely returned to Earth after a long space journey of 22 and a half hours.
Axiom-4 Mission: A moment of pride for India came when Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla returned to Earth after 18 days after completing his successful mission in space. He has become the second Indian astronaut to return from the International Space Station (ISS). Shubhanshu Shukla was part of SpaceX's Axiom-4 mission, which included three other astronauts.
Splashdown in the Sea, Stepping on Earth
Shubhanshu Shukla and his team concluded their journey with a splashdown in the sea. According to Indian time, at 4:45 pm on Monday, SpaceX's Dragon crew capsule 'Grace' separated from the International Space Station and safely returned to Earth after a journey of about 22 and a half hours. After the splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, they were safely extracted by the rescue team.
A Historic Moment for India
This return of Shubhanshu Shukla adds another glorious chapter in the history of Indian space exploration. He became the second Indian citizen to successfully return to Earth after completing a space mission. Earlier, Rakesh Sharma became India's first astronaut in 1984. Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh congratulated Shubhanshu Shukla on this historic success on the social media platform 'X' and said, "Shubhanshu has made India proud."
Who Was Involved in the Mission?
Along with Shubhanshu Shukla, experienced astronauts and scientists from around the world were also involved in this mission.
The mission included 4 members:
- Commander Peggy Whitson - Experienced American astronaut who has traveled to space four times.
- Mission Expert Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski - Polish scientist.
- Tibor Kapu - Hungarian astronaut.
- Shubhanshu Shukla - Indian space scientist and mission specialist.
Important Experiments Conducted in the Mission
During this Axiom-4 mission, Shubhanshu Shukla and his team successfully conducted several important experiments related to space biology, human body response in microgravity, and physics. The aim of these experiments is to make human space travel better and safer in the future. Along with this, they also shared inspirational messages for Indian students from space.
This mission was jointly operated by SpaceX and Axiom Space. The mission began on July 12, 2025. The Dragon capsule 'Grace' first successfully docked with the International Space Station and returned successfully after 18 days of scientific activities.
SpaceX shared real-time updates of this mission on its 'X' handle and told the whole world how this mission was very successful from a scientific and technical point of view.
