As the Dragon spacecraft prepares to splash down, Group Captain Shubanshu Shukla’s father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, expressed immense joy and pride at his son’s return to Earth. Speaking to ANI, he said, “We are very excited that our son is returning from space. He has made us proud. This moment will be recorded in history. We are praying for his safe landing. It’s a day of happiness for the entire country. Though he is our son, he belongs to the whole nation.”

Group Captain Shubanshu Shukla was part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), spending nearly 20 days in space, including around 19 aboard the International Space Station (ISS). With this, he has made history as the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS. The crew is currently aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft Grace, and is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, at approximately 3 pm IST today. According to SpaceX, the spacecraft is on schedule to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and will announce its arrival with a brief sonic boom before splashdown.

Earlier on Monday, the Ax-4 crew successfully undocked from the space-facing port of the ISS’s Harmony module at 4:45 pm IST. This marked the conclusion of Axiom Space’s fourth private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory. The return journey from the ISS to Earth is expected to take around 22.5 hours, as confirmed by Axiom Space and NASA.