Ahead of his journey back to Earth, Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Sunday (July 13, 2025) mentioned that immediately’s India appears to be like formidable, fearless, assured, and filled with satisfaction.
“Forty-one years ago, an Indian went to space, and he also described how India looks from above, and you all want to know how India looks from here. Let me tell you, today’s India from space looks ambitious, fearless, confident, and full of pride. Because of these reasons, I am telling you again, ‘Aaj ka Bharat abhi bi sare jahan se acha dikhta hai’ (today’s India still looks the best in the world). Let’s meet on Earth soon,” Group Captain Shukla, mentioned at a farewell ceremony on the International Space Station (ISS).
It had been an unimaginable journey for him on the ISS, he mentioned. “My journey [to the ISS] is going to get over. But your and my journey is still on; the journey of our human space mission is a long and also difficult one. But I can assure that if we are determined, even stars are attainable,” Group Captain Shukla mentioned.
Thanking fellow astronauts on the ISS, he mentioned they’d made his and the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax‑4) crew members’ keep particular.
“For the last two-and-a-half weeks, we have done a lot of science in the station, [and] outreach activities, and looked back at the Earth when we found time. It almost seems magical to me. These missions have very far-reaching implications beyond science and that is what I believe. Back from here, I carry with me a lot of memories, but one thing that really sticks to me is what humanity is capable of when all of us come together from different parts of the world and work for a common goal,” Group Captain Shukla mentioned.
After two-and-a-half weeks on the ISS, the Indian astronaut can be embarking on this journey back to Earth on Monday (July 14, 2025).
Group Captain Shukla, pilot of the Ax-4 mission, together with three different crew members, is scheduled to undock from the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at 4.35 p.m. IST (7.05 a.m. ET).
The Ax-4 crew will start their journey home aboard SpaceX Dragon, with a splashdown off the coast of California.
The journey back to Earth would take about 22.5 hours. Following a sequence of orbital manoeuvres after undocking, the Dragon is predicted to splashdown at 3 p.m. (IST) on Tuesday (July 15, 2025).
“After performing a series of departure burns to move away from the space station, Dragon will conduct multiple orbit-lowering manoeuvres, jettison the trunk, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere for splashdown off the coast of California 22.5 hours later,” SpaceX mentioned.
Group Captain Shukla, who turned the primary Indian astronaut to go to the ISS, and the primary Indian to attain area within the final 41 years, was to spend up to 14 days on the ISS. However, his keep received prolonged by just a few days.
During his keep on the orbiting laboratory, he carried out a number of microgravity analysis experiments proposed by Indians from nationwide R&D laboratories and tutorial establishments.
He additionally spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and had a few interactions with the coed neighborhood back home by way of ham radio.
The Ax-4 analysis complement consists of round 60 scientific research and actions representing 31 nations, together with the U.S., India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, the UAE, and nations throughout Europe.
After splashdown, Group Captain Shukla will endure a rehabilitation programme for a couple of week, underneath the supervision of flight surgeons, so as to adapt back to Earth’s gravity.
