Shubhanshu Shukla to return to India today, will meet PM

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who became the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), will return back home on Sunday.

Shukla, who had been training in the US for the past one year for the Axiom-4 mission to the ISS, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and travel to his hometown Lucknow to meet his family soon after. He is expected to be back in the capital to participate in the National Space Day celebrations on August 22-23.

Shukla posted on social media a smiling photograph of himself sitting in an aeroplane, and said in its caption that he was filled with mixed emotions as he left the US and could not wait to return to India.

“As I sit on the plane to come back to India, I have a mix of emotions running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my friends and family for the past one year during this mission. I am also excited about meeting all my friends, family and everyone in the country for the first time post mission. I guess this is what life is—everything all at once,” he said in the post.

Sukhla also said he was eager to share his experiences with the nation after his return. The Indian astronaut was part of the Axiom-4 private space mission that lifted off from Florida on June 25 and docked at the ISS on June 26. He returned to Earth on July 15.