Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will undergo a seven-day rehabilitation programme after his splashdown off the California coast on July 15 as he returns to the Earth from an 18-day sojourn on the International Space Station (ISS).
Shukla and three different astronauts — commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu of Poland and Hungary — had docked on the ISS on June 26 as a part of the industrial Axiom-4 mission.
The 4 astronauts are scheduled to undock from the ISS on Monday, July 14, at 4.35 p.m. IST (7.05 am ET), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration mentioned in a press release.
According to ISRO, following a sequence of orbital manoeuvres after undocking Crew Dragon spacecraft is predicted to splash down close to the coast of California on July 15, 2025, at 3 p.m. IST.
“Post splashdown, the Gaganyatri will undergo a rehabilitation program (about 7 days) under supervision of Flight Surgeon to adapt back to Earth’s gravity,” the ISRO mentioned in an replace on the Axiom-4 mission.
ISRO paid roughly Rs 550 crore for Shukla’s journey to the ISS — an expertise that may assist the house company in planning and execution of its human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan, set to take to orbit in 2027.
“ISRO’s flight surgeons are continuously monitoring and ensuring the overall health and fitness of the Gaganyatri through participation in private medical/psychological conferences. Gaganyatri Shubhanshu is in good health and in high spirit,” ISRO mentioned.
Shukla and the three different astronauts are anticipated to board the spacecraft at 2.25 p.m. IST, put on their house fits and perform the required checks earlier than they start their journey to the Earth.
The ISS is orbiting the Earth at a velocity of 28,000 kilometres per hour, and the spacecraft will provoke the autonomous undocking course of to step by step decelerate and re-enter the planet’s ambiance for a splashdown off the coast of California.
“The Dragon spacecraft will return with more than 580 pounds of cargo, including NASA hardware and data from over 60 experiments conducted throughout the mission,” NASA mentioned. Axiom-4 mission commander Peggy Whitson mentioned in a post on X: “Enjoying our last few days on the @Space_Station with rehydrated shrimp cocktails and good company! #Ax4.”
Shukla had introduced carrot halwa and mango nectar (aamras) to the celebration.
On the experiment entrance, Shukla labored on the microalgae experiment, deploying and stowing samples that would at some point present meals, oxygen and biofuels for deep-space missions, Axiom Space mentioned in a press release.
The resilience of the microalgae makes them a promising asset to maintain life past the Earth, it added.
“Exercise research and spacesuit maintenance topped the schedule for the Expedition 73 and Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crews on Thursday,” the NASA assertion mentioned.
The crew additionally continued the Voyager Displays research, which examines how spaceflight impacts eye motion and coordination.
The crew collected knowledge for a research to discover how astronauts understand and work together with their surroundings in orbit, which is vital for designing mentally supportive habitats for long-duration missions.
Another research centered on cerebral blood move, investigating how microgravity and elevated carbon dioxide ranges have an effect on cardiovascular operate, which might later profit each astronauts and sufferers on the Earth.
Radiation publicity was monitored utilizing the compact Rad Nano Dosimeter, a software for assessing astronaut security.
The crew took half within the Acquired Equivalence Test, a cognitive experiment that measures studying and adaptableness in house, and supported the PhotonGrav research by accumulating brain-activity knowledge to discover neuroadaptive applied sciences for house and medical functions.
