Shukla returns to India, may meet PM today before heading home to Lucknow

Senior officials from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), including chairperson Dr V Narayanan, and the director of the country’s Human Spaceflight Centre, DK Singh, were also present to welcome Shukla and his back-up, Group Captain Prashanth Nair.

Shukla’s wife and son were also present at the airport, where a crowd waving the tricolour and beating drums had gathered.

A moment of pride for India! A moment of glory for #ISRO! A moment of gratitude to the dispensation that facilitated this under the leadership of PM @narendramodi.

India’s Space glory touches the Indian soil… as the iconic son of Mother India, #Gaganyatri Shubhanshu Shukla… pic.twitter.com/0QJsYHpTuS

— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) August 16, 2025

Since his splashdown on July 15, Shukla was in Houston re-acclimatising to gravity and debriefing with officials from Axiom Space, SpaceX and NASA. He had spent 18 days on the ISS.

Shukla is only the second Indian to go to space, 40 years after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma.

He is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday before heading to his hometown, Lucknow.

Shukla — along with the three other Indian astronaut designates Prashanth Nair, 48; Ajith Krishnan, 43; Angad Pratap, 43 — will be back in Delhi on August 23 for the celebration of the country’s second Space Day. The day marks the anniversary of India’s landing on the South Pole of the moon.

Sitting on the flight back home, Shukla posted a photograph of himself on Instagram.

He said in the post: “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.”