- Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla reunited with his wife and son after 18 days on the ISS
- Shukla returned to Earth with three astronauts after the private Axiom-4 mission splashdown
- He is the second Indian in space and the first to spend 18 days aboard the ISS
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla reunited with his wife, Kamna Shukla and six-year-old son Kiash Shukla after his 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Kamna and Kiash are already by his side in Houston, Texas. It was the first time Shukla saw his family in two months. He wrote in an Instagram post, "It was challenging. Coming back to Earth and holding my family back in my arms felt like home." He added, "Human spaceflight missions are magical but they are made magical by the humans."
"Now that Shubhanshu has safely returned, our immediate focus will be on his rehabilitation and ensuring he smoothly readjusts to life on Earth," Kamna told PTI from Houston. She added, "For us, simply being reunited after this incredible journey is a celebration in itself."
After his mission in space, his wife plans to bring warmth, routine and togetherness back to their family life. "I am already preparing some of his favourite dishes, knowing how much he must have missed home cooked meals during his time in space", she said.
Shukla, along with three other astronauts - commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, splashed down on earth on Tuesday after completing the private Axiom-4 mission. They returned to Earth after a 22-hour journey aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft.
He became the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma's 1984 sojourn as part of a Soviet Russian mission. He also became the first Indian to travel to the ISS for 18 days - the longest stint.
Kamna spoke about what a "wonderful" and "unexpected" surprise it was to get a call from the ISS right after docking. "Hearing his voice and knowing he was safe meant the world to me. Our conversations typically revolved around his daily activities, the unique experiments he conducted, and the extraordinary experiences he encountered, which were vastly different from life on earth. These phone calls became the highlight of my day through 18 days," she told PTI.
The couple got married in 2009 after having known each other since Class 3. Both of them attended Lucknow's City Montessori School.
Next up, Shukla has already been linked to the Gaganyaan mission, ISRO's first crewed spaceflight slated for 2027.
