- Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla back to Earth on Tuesday
- Shukla is India's first astronaut to visit the International Space Station
- He is the second Indian to visit space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday welcomed the return of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla--India's first astronaut to have visited the International Space Station-- from his historic space mission. Calling Shukla's journey an inspiration for a billion dreams, the Prime Minister noted that the mission marked a milestone towards India's Human Space Flight Mission-- Gaganyaan.
"I join the nation in welcoming Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as he returns to Earth from his historic mission to Space. As India's first astronaut to have visited the International Space Station, he has inspired a billion dreams through his dedication, courage and pioneering spirit. It marks another milestone towards our own Human Space Flight Mission - Gaganyaan," PM Modi said in a post on X.
Group Captain Shukla-- an Indian Air Force pilot-- and three other astronauts of the commercial Axiom-4 mission made a fiery return to Earth after the Dragon 'Grace' spacecraft made a splash down off the San Diego coast in southern California on Tuesday.
The spacecraft carrying Shukla, commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, capped a 22.5-hour journey after an 18-day stay at $150-billion International Space Station, an orbiting space laboratory.
Shukla is only the second Indian to visit space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984. He is the first Indian to visit the ISS.
According to Axiom Space, the Ax-4 was a scientific success. The mission was also a historic milestone for India, Poland, and Hungary-- the three nations that launched national astronauts into space for the first time in over four decades. It was also the first time that their astronauts lived and worked aboard the International Space Station.
For India, the mission marked a new chapter in its space exploration, paving the way for future missions and inspiring broader participation in the global space community.
After the touchdown, the Axiom-4 crew is set to undergo a series of medical checks on board the ship before boarding a helicopter for a ride back to the shore. The four astronauts are expected to spend seven days in rehabilitation as they adjust back to life on Earth under the influence of gravity, unlike the weightlessness experienced in orbit.
