India's Shubhanshu Shukla returns to Earth after science mission on ISS

Indian astronaut and IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Tuesday returned to Earth after a historic mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). His family back home was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions, including excitement, nervousness and pride. The family members of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla in Lucknow were filled with emotion, pride, and celebration as the news came in of his safe return from the International Space Station (ISS).

Shukla, who became the first Indian astronaut in over four decades to visit the ISS, successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast at 3:00 pm IST, completing Axiom Space's historic Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission.

A SpaceX capsule carrying astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary and the United States splashed down off the California coast Tuesday, completing Axiom Mission 4 and capping 20 days in space.

The Ax-4 crew undocked from the International Space Station at 7:15 am EST on Monday (1115 GMT) for a 22.5-hour journey, landing in the Pacific Ocean at around 5:31 am EST (0931 GMT) on Tuesday.

The capsule performed its de-orbit burn before descending toward Earth, deploying drogue and main parachutes ahead of splashdown.

"Thanks for the great ride.. happy to be back," Commander Peggy Whitson, an Axiom employee and former NASA astronaut, said after the splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego.

Also aboard were Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.