Shubhanshu Shukla Starts Journey Back To Earth After ISS Mission

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is all set to return to Earth after his historic stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). As part of the Axiom-4 mission, Shukla has successfully boarded the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, and the hatch has been closed in preparation for departure. The next step involves depressurising the space between the ISS and the Dragon before undocking begins.

According to Axiom Space, the Dragon spacecraft carrying Shukla and his crewmates is scheduled to undock from the ISS at 4:35 PM IST today. The spacecraft is expected to splash down off the coast of California approximately 22.5 hours later, around 4:31 AM CT (3:01 PM IST) on Tuesday.

NASA confirmed that the returning Dragon capsule will be carrying over 580 pounds of cargo. This includes NASA hardware and critical research data collected from more than 60 experiments conducted during the Axiom-4 mission.

Farewell Ceremony Aboard ISS

A farewell ceremony was held on Sunday by the Expedition 73 astronauts to bid goodbye to the Axiom-4 crew. The Axiom-4 mission includes Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, mission commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. This mission is notable for being the first in over four decades to send astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary into space.

During the ceremony, Shukla expressed his hope for a quick reunion with his fellow astronauts once back on Earth. He also noted that the spacecraft will operate in autonomous mode during re-entry, requiring minimal manual control during descent.