‘Moment of the moment’: Shubhanshu Shukla, second Indian in space, returns home. Bharat News
New Delhi: Shubhanshu Shukla, the captain of the second Indian group in space, returned to the country in the early hours of Sunday after completing the Axiom-4 mission led by NASA to the International Space Station (ISS). Shukla, who exited the coast of California on July 15 after an 18-day stay at ISS, was obtained by his wife Kamna, Union Minister Jitendra Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The Indian Air Force Testing Pilot became the first Indian in 41 years – Wing Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma – to visit the space in 1984, and first to visit the ISS. The mission was launched on 25 June from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Before her return, Shukla posted an emotional note on X, writing:“As I sit on the aircraft to return to India, I have a mixture of my heart -ridden feelings. I think there were my friends and family for the last one year during this mission.He said that his commander, experienced astronaut Paigi Whiteson, often reminded him: “The only stable change in the spaceflight is the change.”While riding in the ISS, Shukla conducted several scientific experiments. According to ISRO, his work will directly feed in preparation for India’s Gaganian Human Spaceflight Program, which begins with an unmanned mission later this year. The AXIOM-4 mission marked a significant step in India’s growing human spaceflight ambitions, in which the contribution of Shukla was expected to formulate a base for sending an Indian astronaut into space in an indigenous spacecraft in the coming years.
