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Axiom-4 Mission: India’s Shubhanshu Shukla Returns to Earth After Historic ISS Journey

Prime Highlights:

  • Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla safely returned after residing for 18 days in the International Space Station.
  • Axiom-4 is a record-breaking achievement in India’s overseas space missions.

Key Facts:

  • Shukla is the second Indian in space as well as the first ISS visitor.
  • Axiom-4 crew members carried over 580 pounds of science experiments to perform.

Key Background:

Indian Air Force pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla returned to our planet on July 15, 2025, after bringing to a close his record-breaking mission on Axiom-4 (Ax-4). He was the second Indian space tourist and the first to travel on the International Space Station (ISS). The “Grace” Crew Dragon capsule undocked on July 14 and landed in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego’s coast at 3:01 PM IST. This was the triumphant culmination of the 18-day science-focused, internationally coordinated, and commercially sponsored spaceflight.

Axiom Space led the Ax-4 mission, in collaboration with SpaceX, with four astronauts: Shukla, veteran NASA astronaut and mission commander Peggy Whitson, Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu. The astronauts performed more than 60 scientific experiments on space technology, health, and agriculture. They included observing crop growth under microgravity, muscle loss, and microbial reactions. Significantly, seven of these experiments have been authored by Indian space agencies to assist in aiding India’s future Gaganyaan mission, indicating active space research by India.

Shukla’s mission is a milestone achievement for India’s space program under the “Mission Akash Ganga” program. With an estimated investment of ₹33,000 crore, India aims not only to send men to space but to make a continuous presence there, with plans to visit the moon by 2040. Shukla’s mission is the start of a new chapter in Indian human space travel, ending the interval since Rakesh Sharma’s record 1984 mission.

The Ax-4 mission also observes the trend of commercial space flight globally on the increase. With the trend of the governments tending towards increased cooperation in terms of private spaceflight, the mission also signifies how countries like India, Poland, and Hungary are closing the gap globally in terms of space exploration through cooperation.