India’s astronaut, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who returned to Earth on July 15 after completing NASA’s Axiom-4 (AX-4) space mission, arrived in New Delhi in the early hours of Sunday.
Union MoS for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh tweets, “A moment of pride for India! A moment of glory for ISRO! A moment of gratitude to the dispensation that facilitated this under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. India’s Space glory touches the Indian soil… as the… pic.twitter.com/ZmfZyygKsc
— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2025
At the airport, he was welcomed by Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. His wife, Kamna Shukla, was also present, and both leaders greeted her ahead of his arrival.
#WATCH | Delhi: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla arrives back in India. He is welcomed by Union MoS for Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, in the presence of his wife, Kamna Shukla, and their son. Visuals from inside the airport.
He was the pilot… pic.twitter.com/EwWYT3EnWw
— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2025
Shukla had been part of NASA’s Axiom-4 mission, which lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25. After spending 18 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS) conducting scientific experiments in microgravity, he splashed down off the coast of California on July 15. His return marked a historic milestone—he became the first Indian in 41 years to travel to space.
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… pic.twitter.com/RGQwO3UcQr
— Shubhanshu Shukla (@gagan_shux) August 16, 2025
Ahead of his return to India, Shukla penned an emotional note on X, reflecting on his year-long training and experiences: “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,” he wrote.
He added, “Goodbyes are hard but we need to keep moving in life. As my commander @astro_peggy fondly says, ‘the only constant in spaceflight is change’. I believe that applies to life as well. I guess at the end of the day -“Yun hi chala chal rahi – jeevan gaadi hai samay pahiya”.
#WATCH | Delhi: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla arrives back in India. He is welcomed by Union MoS for Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta.
He was the pilot of NASA’s Axiom-4 Space Mission, which took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida,… pic.twitter.com/FTpP1NaY0O
— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2025
The mission, conducted in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX, was aimed at gaining practical experience for India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme. According to ISRO, Shukla carried out multiple experiments aboard the ISS and the Space Shuttle, making significant contributions to India’s space research. The learnings from Shukla’s mission will directly support India’s Gaganyaan project, which will begin with an unmanned flight later this year, followed by two more unmanned missions. Eventually, an Indian astronaut will be sent into space for 2- 7 days aboard the Gaganyaan spacecraft. The mission also highlighted growing India-US space cooperation.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States, ISRO and NASA signed an agreement enabling an Indian astronaut to travel to the ISS under a US mission.
