Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to return to Earth on July 14 along with his three Axiom-4 crewmates, marking the end of a historic mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The team will undock from the ISS at 4:30 pm IST and is scheduled to splash down around 3 pm IST on July 15.
As the first Indian to visit the ISS and only the second Indian astronaut in space after Rakesh Sharma, Shukla delivered a powerful farewell message that paid tribute to his predecessor’s famous words from 1984.
“India still looks saare jahan se accha from space,” he said during the formal farewell ceremony on July 13. “From up here, today’s India appears ambitious, fearless, and full of confidence.” He added in Hindi: “Jaldi hi dharti pe mulaqat karte hain (We’ll meet soon on Earth).”
The Ax-4 crew – Commander Peggy Whitson, pilot Shukla, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu – launched from Florida on June 25 and docked with the ISS a day later. Over the course of their 18-day stay, they conducted scientific experiments, engaged in outreach activities, and developed close camaraderie with the resident Expedition 73 crew.
Union Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh confirmed the undocking schedule and announced that the astronauts would undergo a seven-day rehabilitation programme post-landing to help them readjust to Earth’s gravity, under the care of trained flight surgeons.
Shukla, known by his callsign “Shux,” was chosen under an Indo-US space partnership and trained rigorously for the mission. His flight marks a major milestone for India’s human spaceflight ambitions, coming four decades after Sharma’s historic journey aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11 spacecraft.
In his final address, Shukla reflected on the significance of his journey: “Because of all that India has become, I can proudly repeat — today too, India looks saare jahan se accha.”
The farewell aboard the ISS was deeply emotional, as the Ax-4 and Expedition 73 crew members exchanged warm farewells and shared a symbolic final meal – shrimp cocktail, cakes, and walnuts – celebrating tradition and friendship in orbit.
India’s scientific community has celebrated the mission as a pivotal achievement, especially for public-private partnerships in space and as a precursor to ISRO’s upcoming Gaganyaan crewed mission.
