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After more than two weeks aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Indian astronaut Shubanshu Shukla is heading home, with science samples in tow and a suitcase full of memories.
On Sunday, Shukla and his Axiom-4 crew will begin packing up experiments and personal items into SpaceX’s Dragon capsule for their return to Earth, NASA said in a statement.
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Updating the mission status for the return journey, NASA said on Friday that mission managers have given the “go” for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and undock from the ISS. The spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the space-facing port of the Harmony module at 4:35 p.m. IST on Monday, July 14.
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According to Axiom Space, the Crew Dragon is expected to splash down off the coast of California on July 15, 2025, at 3:00 pm IST, following a series of orbital maneuvers.
In a press statement, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said 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.
The Axiom-4 mission, piloted by Shukla and carrying veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson, European mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wiśniewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary), reached the ISS on June 26.
Aboard the space station, Shubanshu Shukla conducted a range of scientific experiments — from space farming to muscle regeneration.
On Friday, ISRO shared an update on the status of seven microgravity experiments carried out as part of India’s participation in the Axiom-4 mission. Completed experiments include survival studies on Indian tardigrades, the effects of the space environment on muscle loss, the growth of methi and moong seeds, and a cyanobacteria-based study aimed at developing life support systems.
The remaining three — involving microalgae, crop seeds, and the Voyager Display experiment — are nearing completion, ISRO said in a statement.
These microgravity experiments — and the insights gained by Shukla during the mission — will contribute to India’s future space endeavours, including the development of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), planned for the early 2030s, and Chandrayaan-4, the country’s first human mission to the Moon, targeted for 2047.
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