Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three other crew members of the Axiom-4 mission safely returned to Earth on 15 July 2025 after completing an 18-day historic mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft made a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, California. The crew will now undergo a 7-day rehabilitation program to readjust to Earth’s gravity.
The Axiom-4 mission began on 25 June 2025, when the Falcon-9 rocket launched the Dragon capsule from Florida toward the ISS.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian to visit the ISS, and only the second Indian in space after Rakesh Sharma in 1984. During his stay, Shukla conducted seven India-specific microgravity experiments to aid future planetary exploration and long-duration space missions.
The mission, called Akash Ganga, was a joint collaboration between Axiom Space, NASA, and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). At a farewell ceremony aboard the ISS, Mr. Shukla described the journey as “truly incredible.”
