After an 18-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS), astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to return to Earth. (Pics/ PTI and AFP)
Shubhanshu Shukla along and three other astronauts of the commercial Axiom-4 mission are setting off on a return journey to Earth on Monday.
Shukla, who became the second Indian astronaut to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma's 1984 odyssey, will board the Dragon spacecraft at around 2 pm IST and embark on the return journey two hours later.
Axiom said, "After a 22.5-hour journey back to Earth, the crew is expected to splash down off the coast of California at approximately 4:31 am CT (3:01 pm IST on Tuesday)."
On Sunday, the Expedition's 73 astronauts organised a traditional farewell ceremony for the Axiom-4 crew comprising Shukla, commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
The Axiom-4 mission marked the return to space for India, Poland and Hungary after over four decades.
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