After spending 18 days on the International Space Station (ISS), during which he went around the Earth 288 times, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and his colleagues on the Axiom-4 mission began their 22-hour return journey to Earth on Monday afternoon.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force officer and ISRO astronaut, has made a triumphant return to Earth, concluding a groundbreaking mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Later, Gaganyatri Shubhanshu Shukla was flown to Houston for a week-long rehabilitation program to mitigate any adverse effect of microgravity. This is being administered by Axiom’s flight surgeon and ISRO’s flight surgeon is also participating in this program.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, extended its heartfelt congratulations to Group Captain Shukla, commending his courage, dedication, and professionalism.

“Dragon and the @Axiom_Space Ax-4 crew are on track to reenter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down off the coast of San Diego at ~2:31 a.m. PT tomorrow. Dragon will also announce its arrival with a brief sonic boom prior to splashing down in the Pacific Ocean,” SpaceX posted.