Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force officer and ISRO astronaut, has made a triumphant return to Earth, concluding a groundbreaking mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The Cabinet hailed Shubhanshu Shukla for completing his 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station, stating that it marked the beginning of a new chapter in India's space programme

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The International Space Station’s first visitors from India, Poland and Hungary headed back to Earth on Monday, wrapping up a private mission and catching a ride home with SpaceX. Their capsule undocked from the orbiting lab and aimed for a splashdown the next morning in the Pacific off the Southern California coast.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla with other Axiom-4 crew members returned from the International Space Station with 260 Kg of research payload marking India’s first human spaceflight since Rakesh Sharma.

The Axiom-4 crew is to reach Earth onboard a SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft with a splashdown off the coast of California on Tuesday,3 PM (IST) after a 22.5-hour journey from the ISS.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Axiom-4 crew members were assisted out of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and into a recovery vehicle.

India's historic first crewed mission to the ISS, led by ISRO and Axiom Space, enters its final phase. The Dragon Grace capsule carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to splashdown off California after a successful 18-day mission.