Axiom-4 Mission: President Murmu says ‘Whole nation is proud of Shubhanshu Shukla’s journey into the stars’

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday extended her best wishes to the crew members of Axiom-4 mission, saying that as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla creates a new milestone in space for India, the whole nation is proud of his journey.

Shukla, along with three other crew members from the US, Poland, and Hungary, embarked on the Axiom-4 mission, which lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida today.

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Reacting to the historic mission, President Murmu said: “As Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla creates a new milestone in space for India, the whole nation is excited and proud of an Indian’s journey into the stars. He and his fellow astronauts of Axiom Mission 4 from the US, Poland, and Hungary prove the world is indeed one family – ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.”

Extending her best wishes for the mission’s success, Murmu said that Axiom-4 reflects “the enduring partnership between NASA and ISRO.”

“The wide-ranging experiments to be performed by the crew will lead to new frontiers of scientific studies and space exploration,” she added.

Shukla, who is the Group Captain in the Indian Air Force, is the first Indian astronaut to travel as a Pilot to the International Space Station (ISS) and only the second Indian after Rakesh Sharma in 1984 to travel to space.