By AnjaIi Sharma
WASHINGTON – Space X’s Grace and its latest Crew Dragon capsule on Monday will embark on a 23 hour journey back to Earth, with splashdown expected off the California coast, NASA stated in a press release issued.
Shubhanshu Shukla’s journey back home from the International Space Station where he spent 20 days, began smoothly on Monday.
The Dragon spacecraft, carrying Shukla and 3 other Axiom-4 crew members, undocked from the ISS more than two hours after the hatch was closed.
NASA said in a statement “Dragon is slowly maneuvering away from the station into an orbital track that will return the crew and its cargo safely to Earth, targeting a splashdown off the coast of California on Tuesday, July 15.”
NASA informed that the spacecraft is returning with more than 580 pounds of cargo, including NASA hardware and data from over 60 experiments conducted during the mission.
Union Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh welcomed Shubhanshu Shukla with a post on X, stated the entire nation is looking forward to his safe return, after the successful undocking.
“Welcome back, Shubhanshu. The entire nation eagerly awaits your arrival back home… as you begin your return journey after the successful undocking of #Axiom4,” Singh wrote.
Shukla echoed the iconic words of cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space in 1984, stated that India still looks “saare jahan se achha” (best in the world) from space.
Group Captain Shukla arrived at the ISS on June 26, become the first Indian to set foot on the orbiting laboratory.
Indian Space Research Organization ISRO said that after splashdown, Gaganyatri Shubanshu Shukla will undergo a week-long rehabilitation program under the supervision of flight surgeons to help him readjust to Earth’s gravity, in a press statement.
Insights gained by Shukla during the mission will contribute to India’s future space endeavors, including the development of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, planned for the early 2030s, and Chandrayaan-4, the country’s first human mission to the Moon, targeted for 2047.
Shubhanshu Shukla shared his optimism about India’s future space missions during his parting message at the farewell ceremony aboard the space station.“As my mission aboard the space station nears its end, our journey—mine and India’s far from over. The path to India’s human spaceflight is long and challenging, but I assure you: if we set our minds to it, even the stars are attainable,” Shukla added.
