'We are waiting, and will give him a grand welcome', says the mother of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is a part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew. The mission will undock from the International Space Station (ISS) on 14 July, and the crew is expected to splash down off the coast of California on 15 July.
Shubhanshu's father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, told the media, "Tomorrow, July 14, the undocking will take place at around 4.30 pm, and on July 15, he will return to Earth. We have been waiting for this, so we are happy that he is coming back. We pray to God that he comes back safely..."
His mother, Asha Shukla, said, "We pray to God that he completes his mission successfully and comes back to earth as soon as possible and meets us... We will give him a grand welcome."
Also Read: Axiom-4 mission: Shubhanshu Shukla set to return on July 14
Group Captain Shukla is an Indian Air Force officer and the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS. The team will undock from the ISS at around 4:35 pm IST on July 14, and splashdown is expected in the Pacific Ocean near California at approximately 3 pm IST on Tuesday, July 15. The return journey aboard the Dragon spacecraft will take around 22 hours, concluding their nearly 18-day stay aboard the space station.
The Ax-4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Slawosz "Suave" Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and HUNOR (Hungarian to Orbit) astronaut Tibor.
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