Cake, Tears, Smiles: How Shubhanshu Shukla's Family Celebrated His Return From Space

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla returned to earth after 18 days on the International Space Station. The SpaceX Dragon carrying Shubhanshu Shukla and three others splashed down near San Diego, on Tuesday.

Shukla's parents were seen rejoicing and celebrating as he was assisted out of the Dragon Spacecraft onto the recovery vehicle. His mother, Asha Shukla, was in tears when she first saw him. "My son has safely returned, I thank god, you all who have covered the event. I got emotional, after all, my son has returned after many days", she said.

VIDEO | Lucknow: Splashdown of Dragon confirmed. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla's parents turn emotional on return of Axiom-4 crew to earth.#ShubhanshuShukla #AxiomMission4

(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/extx6RUB7I

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 15, 2025

She told ANI that she was proud of him, and encouraged people to take inspiration from him. "Excitement is endless, and we are very proud. We were afraid at first... The upcoming generation should take inspiration and move ahead as well," she said.

Shambu Dayal Shukla, his father, spoke about the safe return of the Axiom-4 crew on Earth, saying, "We felt amazing that Shubhanshu's mission was successful and that he had a safe landing. We are very proud of him. I thank God for this."

This was Shukla's first spaceflight during the Axiom-4 mission. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is a commercial spaceflight supported by ISRO and NASA and operated by Axiom Space. Along with him, there was commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

His return turned out to be an emotional moment for his family as they celebrated by cutting a cake. 

#WATCH | Axiom-4 Mission | Lucknow, UP: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla's family rejoices and celebrates as he and the entire crew return to the earth after an 18-day stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS) https://t.co/FOshCfbQkW pic.twitter.com/Yzh4DEbuuR

— ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2025

Shukla had no direct ties with aviation or space exploration and was raised in a middle-class household in Lucknow. He was later inspired by a childhood trip to an airshow. He was commissioned to the Indian Air Force in 2006 and completed over 2,000 hours of flying time on various advanced fighter aircraft such as Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Jaguar, and Dornier-228.

The Axiom-4 mission reportedly cost India around $70 million.