The Axiom-4 crew will undergo a series of medical checks onboard the ship.
New Delhi:
The entire nation eagerly awaits your return, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday as astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla embarked on the journey back to earth after an 18-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS).
“Welcome back Shubhanshu! The entire nation eagerly awaits your arrival back home…as you begin your return journey, after successful undocking of #Axiom4,” Mr Singh said in a post on X.
Mr Shukla, who became the second Indian astronaut to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 odyssey, and three other astronauts of the Axiom-4 mission boarded the Dragon spacecraft on Monday that undocked from the ISS at 4:45 PM IST as it began its 22.5-hour journey back to Earth.
The Dragon is expected to splash down on Tuesday at 3:01 pm IST off the California coast. The spacecraft will be hauled up on a special recovery ship where the astronauts will be brought out from the capsule.
The Axiom-4 crew will undergo a series of medical checks onboard the ship before boarding a helicopter for a ride back to the shore.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
