New Delhi- (Shubhanshu Shukla Return) Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three other people involved in the Axiom-4 mission returned to Earth on Tuesday (July 15, 2025) after an 18-day stay and a 22.5-hour journey at the International Space Station (ISS). The Dragon spacecraft carrying all the astronauts landed in San Diego, California. The first pictures of Shubhanshu Shukla, who returned from space, have surfaced.
Mission pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, smiling, came out of the Dragon spacecraft and felt gravity for the first time in 18 days. All four astronauts have come out of the Dragon spacecraft. First, Commander Peggy Whitson Gunn came out of the spacecraft and then mission pilot Shubhanshu Shukla came out.
After returning to Earth, Shubanshu Shukla and the X-4 team will now have to remain in isolation for 10 days. Only after that will their normal life begin. At the farewell ceremony at the International Space Station on Sunday (July 13, 2024), Shubanshu Shukla said, "See you soon on Earth." Shukla is the second Indian astronaut after Rakesh Sharma traveled to space in 1984. With the Axiom-4 mission, India, Poland and Hungary have returned to space after more than four decades.