Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, India’s Second Astronaut, Gets a Hero’s Welcome Home After Awesome ISS Trip
NEW DELHI, India – August 17, 2025:Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the second Indian to visit space—and the first to hang out on the International Space Station (ISS)—got a huge welcome back to India today. He landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, wrapping up his awesome trip as part of the Axiom-4 mission. Shukla, who’s a test pilot with the Indian Air Force (IAF), was met by his family and some important people, including Dr. Jitendra Singh, who’s in charge of science and tech, and Delhi’s Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta. He’s back a little over a month after he splashed down on July 15, kicking off a cool new period for India’s space program.
What He Did Up There
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla blasted off on June 25, 2025, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He was the pilot for the Axiom-4 mission—a private space trip to the ISS put together by Axiom Space. The mission got to the ISS the next day, June 26.
While he was up on the ISS for 18 days, Shukla did a bunch of science experiments that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told him to do. This included checking out how muscles grow back, how radiation messes with living stuff, and if certain plants can grow without gravity. The results should give India some important info for its own upcoming space mission, Gaganyaan.
Shukla’s trip was a big deal for India’s space plans. He’s the first Indian in space since Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma back in 1984. But Sharma’s trip was with the Soviets, while Shukla’s was a business and science thing, mostly to get data for India’s future space stuff.
What Happened After He Landed
After splashing down near California on July 15, Shubhanshu Shukla chilled out in the US for a few weeks, getting back into shape. Astronauts need to get used to gravity again after being in space for a while. He also chatted with people from NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX, filling them in on everything.
His flight back was on August 17, and everyone was super excited for him to come home. Even the Prime Minister’s office and the government said how proud they were of him. Before he flew back, Shukla said on social media that he was sad to leave his crewmates but couldn’t wait to see his family and country.
When he got to Delhi, people went wild. Dr. Jitendra Singh said it was a time of pride and glory for India. All the important officials and news people there showed how important his mission was to the country.
How It All Ties into Gaganyaan
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is one of the four astronauts picked for India’s Gaganyaan mission. The Axiom-4 mission let Shukla get some super useful experience in space. All the time he spent on the ISS and the info he got from his experiments will help get Gaganyaan ready to go, sending Indian astronauts to space on our own spaceship.
The Gaganyaan program is super important to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wants India to be a big player in space. He talked about Shukla’s trip during his Independence Day speech and mentioned that India wants to have its own space station by 2035. This mission and what Shukla did are big steps toward making that happen.
Shukla’s successful mission really makes India look good when it comes to space stuff. It proves that India can and will be a key player in space, working with other countries. The collaboration with Axiom Space and NASA shows that working together is how space exploration is going to be in the future.
What’s Next and How People Are Celebrating
Being back home is just the start for Shukla. He’s going to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon to tell him all about his trip. He’s also going to be at the National Space Day parties in New Delhi on August 22-23, along with the other Gaganyaan astronauts: Group Captains Prashanth Nair, Ajith Krishnan, and Angad Pratap.
Even outside of the official stuff, people are pumped about his return. His hometown, Lucknow, is planning a huge party with a parade and everything. All this excitement shows how proud the country is of what he’s done.
Shukla’s trip isn’t just about science; it’s also inspired tons of young people in India. His story shows that India is getting really awesome at science and technology. Now, everyone’s looking forward to the next part of the Gaganyaan program, when India will send its own astronauts into space all by itself!
