PM Modi gifted the Axiom-4 mission patch to PM Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla this evening, a day after the astronaut returned to India after his historic visit to the International Space Station (ISS). PM Modi hosted Mr Shukla at the Prime Minister's residence in Delhi. PM Modi was seen welcoming Mr Shukla, who was wearing an ISRO astronaut's jacket, with a hug.
He gifted the Axiom-4 mission patch to PM Modi and showed him pictures of the Earth taken from the International Space Station. He is the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS).
"India is proud of his feat," posted PM Modi on X after the meeting.
Mr Shukla was part of the Axiom-4 private space mission, which lifted off from Florida on June 25 and docked at the ISS on June 26. He returned to Earth on July 15.
During the 18-day mission, Mr Shukla, along with astronauts Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary), conducted more than 60 experiments and 20 outreach sessions aboard the ISS.
On Saturday, he posted on Instagram a photo of himself sitting on a plane. "As I sit on the plane to come back to India, I have a mix of emotions running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my friends and family for the past one year during this mission. I am also excited about meeting all my friends, family and everyone in the country for the first time post mission. I guess this is what life is -- everything all at once," read his post.
"Having received incredible love and support from everyone during and after the mission, I can't wait to come back to India to share my experiences with all of you. Goodbyes are hard, but we need to keep moving in life. As my commander Peggy Whitson fondly says, 'the only constant in spaceflight is change'. I believe that applies to life as well," he said.
Recalling the song from the Bollywood movie 'Swades' that was on his playlist just before he embarked on the Axiom-4 mission from the US, Mr Shukla said, "I guess at the end of the day -'Yun hi chala chal rahi - jeevan gaadi hai samay pahiya'".
