Four astronauts, including India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, to return to Earth today after Axiom-4 mission

In a landmark moment for global space collaboration, four astronauts, including India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, are set to return to Earth today at 3 PM IST, marking the end of the Axiom-4 mission, which took them to the International Space Station (ISS) in late June.

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The crew will make their splashdown off the coast of California, USA. They launched on June 25 and reached the ISS the following day, June 26, where they spent over two weeks conducting scientific research and collaborative experiments.

The returning crew includes:

• Shubhanshu Shukla (India),
• Peggy Whitson (USA), a veteran NASA astronaut,
• Slawosz Ujanski (Poland), and
• Tibor Kapu (Hungary).

As they depart the ISS, their spacecraft will be moving at an incredible 28,000 km/h, which must be slowed down dramatically to just 26 km/h within the final hour before landing. This involves a two-stage parachute deployment system, the first chute stabilizes the spacecraft at 5.7 km altitude, followed by the main chutes opening at 2 km to guide a safe landing.

Once splashdown is complete, the crew will be transported by a recovery vessel and will undergo a seven-day reconditioning program. This post-mission rehabilitation helps them readjust to Earth’s gravity after an extended stay in microgravity.