From Space to Earth: Shubhanshu Shukla and Team’s Return With Key Findings

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and his Axiom Mission 4 crewmates are set to make their return to Earth today, July 15, after spending nearly 20 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The team is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast at approximately 3:01 pm IST.

The crew will not only return safely but also bring along over 580 pounds of cargo, including critical NASA hardware and valuable data from more than 60 scientific experiments conducted during the mission. The research spans contributions from 31 countries and is anticipated to offer breakthroughs in space science and technology.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked from the ISS on Monday at 4:45 pm IST, marking the start of their journey back home. Live coverage of the splashdown will begin at 2 pm IST.

Shubhanshu Shukla, serving as the mission’s pilot from ISRO, flew alongside commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

The Axiom-4 mission, launched on June 25 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, represents a significant milestone in international collaboration for private spaceflight.

Union Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, noted that the expected landing time has a margin window of about an hour, depending on final re-entry conditions.