After spending 18 days in space, Group Captain and astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla experienced gravity again on Tuesday. Smiling and stepping out of the Dragon capsule with an Indian flag on his shoulder, Shukla, or Shax, became the second Indian to travel to space and the first to enter the International Space Station (ISS) under the Axiom-4 (X-4) mission.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule, carrying pilot Shukla and three other crew members, mission commander Peggy Whitson and project astronauts Tibor Kapu and Slavoj Uznanski-Vishniewski, landed off the coast of San Diego, California, on July 15 at around 3:02 pm. The return journey from the ISS to the landing in space lasted 22.5 hours.
In the X-4 mission, considered a precursor to the upcoming Gaganyaan human space flight programme of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Shukla conducted seven micro-gravity experiments on the ISS, a first for an Indian civilian.
Welcoming Shukla back on Earth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “As India’s first astronaut to visit the International Space Station, he has inspired the dreams of millions with his dedication, courage and pioneering spirit.” The Prime Minister, who also holds the portfolio of the Ministry of Space, said the success of this mission is another milestone towards “our own human space flight mission – Gaganyaan”.
“Gaganyaan pilot Shubhanshu Shukla has successfully completed all seven micro-gravity experiments and other planned activities, leading to significant achievements in the mission,” ISRO had said in a statement earlier.
The space agency said all the planned experiments have been successfully completed. These included studies on Indian species of tardigrades (observation of the behaviour of microorganisms in microgravity), myogenesis (muscle cell development), germination of fenugreek and moong seeds, demonstration of cyanobacteria and microalgae (photosynthetic microorganisms) and response of crop seeds to space. ISRO also sent up a ‘Voyager Display’ experiment, which tested how electronic screens work in microgravity. It was named after NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
Speaking to the media, Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said Shakes will hold discussions with ISRO experts and debriefings with Axiom Space, SpaceX and NASA. He further said the experiments carried out will be relevant for the entire world. The astronaut is expected to return to New Delhi on August 17.
“India has found a permanent place in the world of space today!” Singh wrote on X.
The X-4 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on June 25, during which astronauts from India, Hungary and Poland, along with NASA veteran Whitson, performed nearly 60 scientific experiments.