New Delhi: Shubhanshu Shukla’s Axiom-4 Mission safely splashed down into the Pacific Ocean at 3:01 pm (IST) on 15 July, marking his return to Earth. The 19-day-long mission at the International Space Station was an Indian astronaut’s first sojourn into the ISS, and the second ever trip to space.
The Axiom-4 Mission members, aboard the Grace Crew Dragon capsule, undocked from the ISS yesterday at 4:30 pm (IST), and completed a 22.5-hour journey before re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere on the afternoon of 15 July. The re-entry period saw a brief communications shutdown for 6 minutes as the spacecraft heated up due to air compression and friction upon encounter with the Earth’s gravity. After re-entry, the spacecraft’s automated parachutes opened to allow a graceful descent towards the landing area in the Pacific Ocean at a pace of 15 miles an hour.
“Welcome home, it’s great to have you back,” said the SpaceX ground control crew to Peggy Whitson, commander of the Axiom-4 Mission, as the spacecraft splashed down and confirmed its return to Earth.
As the capsule splashed down, cheers went up across the world, with PM Modi welcoming Shubhanshu Shukla back on Earth with a post on X, saying he had “inspired a billion dreams”.
I join the nation in welcoming Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as he returns to Earth from his historic mission to Space. As India’s first astronaut to have visited International Space Station, he has inspired a billion dreams through his dedication, courage and pioneering…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 15, 2025
At exactly 3:01 PM (IST), or 2:30 AM Central Time, the Grace capsule gently landed off the coast of San Diego in Southern California. Immediately, there were two fast boats and teams deployed by SpaceX and Axiom Space to bring in the crew. The recovery ship Shannon was ready and waiting to carry the crew back to the coast after safety checks, after which they will be flown to Houston, Texas.
Once the Grace Crew Dragon capsule landed in the water, the recovery teams checked for leakages or other issues, while another team recovered the parachutes. Once the spacecraft check was done, the crew underwent preliminary health checks to ensure their safety after the long journey. Since the Dragon capsule is a reusable one, it was hoisted onto a recovery boat to be taken back to the coast along with the crew.
The Axiom-4 Mission piloted by Shubhanshu Shukla and carrying veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson, European mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wiśniewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary), reached the ISS on 26 June, initially for a 14-day stay at the ISS. The Mission eventually turned into a 19-day one. Shukla, Kapu, and Uznanski-Wiśniewski are first-time visitors to the ISS and are the first people to fly to space in 40 years from their respective countries.
Over the last 19 days, Shukla worked on eight different research experiments along with various Indian institutes, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, the National Institute of Plant Genome Research, and the University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharwad. The experiments range from muscle regeneration to cyanobacteria to growing sprouts in space. According to the Axiom press conference during the splashdown process, between the four of them, the crew did 20 different events with school students, press, and government officials.
Now that they have landed, the crew will be flown to Houston, Texas where they are expected to undergo a minimum of 7-days of quarantine to acclimatise their bodies after 19 days in zero gravity.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Explained: How SpaceX’s Crew Dragon will bring Shubhanshu Shukla and crew back to Earth