Indian Air Force Group Captain and Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla gave a passionate speech on 13 July 2025 at the AXIOM-4 mission farewell ceremony at the International Space Station (ISS). He said, “It has been an incredible journey. It was made special and magnificent by those who were involved in it.” Shubhanshu reiterated India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 historical words, saying, “Today’s India looks ambitious from space, looks fearless, looks confident, looked full of pride, and today India still looks good.”
Shubhanshu, who is the pilot of the Axiom-4 mission, was on ISS from 26 June. He conducted 60 scientific experiments for 18 days, including studying muscle loss, developing brain-computer interfaces, and growing moong and fenugreek seeds in space. He also conducted microalgy experiments, which can provide food, oxygen and bio-fuel for future dark space missions. Shubhanshu took mango juice and carrot pudding with him, while Polish astronaut Slavos took Pogi with cabbage and mushrooms.
The AXIOM-4 team, including Commander Paigi Whitson, Shubhanshu, Slavos Uznansky-Visnivski and Tibor Kapu, will be separated from ISS on 14 am on July 14 at 7:05 am (4:35 am) Dragon spacecraft “Grace”. The team will land on the IST California coast at 3 pm on 15 July. According to ISRO, Shubhanshu will undergo a seven -day rehabilitation program to re -mourn the earth’s gravity. ISRO spent Rs 550 crore for this mission, which is important for the plan of Gaganyaan Mission in 2027.
Shubhanshu’s father Shambhu Dayal Shukla said, “His mission is going well, it looks great to see this.” This mission is a milestone for India’s space program and future Indian space station.
