Speaking from the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday in his farewell address, astronaut Shubhansu Shukla looked back at the changing space aspirations of India, with a sense of pride in the country's increasing self-confidence and vision.
Forty-one years ago, an Indian entered space and described how our nation looked from the outside. Today, India appears ambitious, fearless, confident, and proud… Today's India continues to look 'saare jahan se acha,'" said Shukla, addressing both Hindi and English before the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) crew embarked on the return journey.
He further stated, "Our path forward into space exploration is perhaps long and difficult but it has started."
The Ax-4 mission, that was launched on June 25, reached the ISS one day later. The mission was originally planned to stay 14 days, but it ended up staying almost three more days as bad weather back on Earth impeded the return.
The departure ceremony involved emotional moments of interaction among the four-person Ax-4 crew — India's Shukla, America's Peggy Whitson, Poland's Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Hungary's Tibor Kapu — and the seven astronauts already on board the ISS.
One of the ISS inhabitants commended the Ax-4 crew for being "Your commitment to science and your professionalism certainly sets a new benchmark for a private astronaut mission."
Referring to his experience, Group Captain Shukla explained, "The experience has been phenomenal and much more than I expected since I landed at the ISS. I carry with me cherished memories and learnings from the ISS. I have no doubt that the science experiments we conducted at ISS have larger-than-life implications over and above the science.
He also recognized the cooperative attitude aboard the ISS. "The one thing I take back is what humanity can achieve and is capable of doing when we work with a common goal," he said, signing off with, "See you soon on Earth."
NASA has confirmed that the Dragon spacecraft is to undock from the ISS at 4:30 PM IST. If weather conditions are stable, the capsule is to splash down off the Californian coast in the afternoon on Tuesday. Following their return, the astronauts would go through a one-week rehabilitation program under the supervision of flight surgeons to acclimatize themselves to Earth's gravity.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that Shukla carried out all scheduled microgravity experiments on the ISS successfully. These experiments being led by Indians are an important step in space science and will go a long way in aiding future missions.
Speaking in a statement, ISRO stated, "These experiments will provide critical insights to aid the Gaganyaan mission, the future Bhartiya Antariksha Station, and future planetary exploration activities."
