‘Yun hi chala chal rahi…’: Subhanshu Shukla reflects as he heads back to heads back after historic ISS mission

NEW YORK: Indian astronaut Group Captain Subhanshu Shukla is set to return to India after completing a historic AX-4 mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), becoming the first Indian in 41 years to travel to space.

Earlier on Saturday, Shukla shared an emotional note on X while boarding a flight to New Delhi, reflecting on his year-long training and the bonds he built during the mission.

“As I sit on the plane to come back to India I have a mix of emotions running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my friends and family for the past one year during this mission. I am also excited about meeting all my friends, family and everyone in the country for the first time post mission. I guess this is what life is – everything all at once,” he wrote.

As I sit on the plane to come back to India I have a mix of emotions running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my friends and family for the past one year during this mission. I am also excited about meeting all my friends, family… pic.twitter.com/RGQwO3UcQr

— Shubhanshu Shukla (@gagan_shux) August 16, 2025

He added, “Goodbyes are hard but we need to keep moving in life. As my commander @astro_peggy fondly says, ‘the only constant in spaceflight is change’. I believe that applies to life as well. I guess at the end of the day -“Yun hi chala chal rahi – jeevan gaadi hai samay pahiya”.

Shukla’s journey was part of the Axiom Space (AX-04) mission, launched on June 25 aboard SpaceX’s Falcon rocket. The Dragonfly spacecraft docked with the ISS on June 26, where Shukla spent 15 days conducting a series of scientific experiments in microgravity.

The mission, conducted in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX, was aimed at gaining practical experience for India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.

According to ISRO, Shukla carried out multiple experiments aboard the ISS and the Space Shuttle, making significant contributions to India’s space research. The learnings from Shukla’s mission will directly support India’s Gaganyaan project, which will begin with an unmanned flight later this year, followed by two more unmanned missions. Eventually, an Indian astronaut will be sent into space for 2-7 days aboard the Gaganyaan spacecraft.

ISRO said around ₹600 crore was spent on the Axiom mission, including training for two astronauts. While Shukla flew to the ISS, fellow astronaut Prashant Nair served as backup.

The mission also highlighted growing India-US space cooperation. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, ISRO and NASA signed an agreement enabling an Indian astronaut to travel to the ISS under a US mission. (ANI)