After spending 18 days on the International Space Station (ISS), during which he went around the Earth 288 times, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and his colleagues on the Axiom-4 mission began their 22-hour return journey to Earth on Monday afternoon.

Later, Gaganyatri Shubhanshu Shukla was flown to Houston for a week-long rehabilitation program to mitigate any adverse effect of microgravity. This is being administered by Axiom’s flight surgeon and ISRO’s flight surgeon is also participating in this program.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, extended its heartfelt congratulations to Group Captain Shukla, commending his courage, dedication, and professionalism.

The Axiom 4 mission, which includes Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, is set to conclude its 14-day stay at the International Space Station. The spacecraft will undock on July 14 at 4 Ms.4, with splashdown scheduled for July 15 at 3 Ms.

The Axiom-4 crew is to reach Earth onboard a SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft with a splashdown off the coast of California on Tuesday,3 PM (IST) after a 22.5-hour journey from the ISS.

India's historic first crewed mission to the ISS, led by ISRO and Axiom Space, enters its final phase. The Dragon Grace capsule carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to splashdown off California after a successful 18-day mission.

“Dragon and the @Axiom_Space Ax-4 crew are on track to reenter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down off the coast of San Diego at ~2:31 a.m. PT tomorrow. Dragon will also announce its arrival with a brief sonic boom prior to splashing down in the Pacific Ocean,” SpaceX posted.