PM Narendra Modi met Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Sunday evening. This came a day after the astronaut returned to India following his historic mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Prime Minister hosted Shukla at his residence in New Delhi.
Shukla gifted PM Modi the official Axiom-4 mission patch and showed him exclusive photographs of Earth captured from the ISS.
Taking to X, PM Modi posted, “Had a great interaction with Shubhanshu Shukla. We discussed a wide range of subjects including his experiences in space, progress in science & technology as well as India’s ambitious Gaganyaan mission. India is proud of his feat.”
Shukla joined the Axiom-4 private space mission, which launched from Florida on June 25. It docked at the ISS on June 26. He returned to Earth on July 15 after spending 18 days in orbit.
During the mission, Shukla worked alongside astronauts Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary). Together, they conducted over 60 scientific experiments and 20 outreach sessions aboard the ISS.
On Saturday, Shukla shared a heartfelt Instagram post as he boarded a flight back to India.
“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.
He added that life in space taught him the importance of change, echoing his commander Peggy Whitson’s words:
“The only constant in spaceflight is change.”
Reflecting on his journey, Shukla revealed that he listened to a song from the Bollywood classic Swades. He did so before launching for the mission.
He further added, “I guess at the end of the day -“Yun hi chala chal rahi – jeevan gaadi hai samay pahiya”.
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