CM Rekha Gupta, Union Minister Jitendra Singh receive astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla at Delhi airport

New Delhi, aug 17 (IANS) Returning for the first time in India after completing a successful space mission stint, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla arrived in the early hours of Sunday at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital, where he was welcomed by Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

Taking to social media platform X, Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh in a post wrote: "A moment of pride for India! A moment of glory for #ISRO! A moment of gratitude to the dispensation that facilitated this under the leadership of PM @narendramodi. India’s Space glory touches the Indian soil… as the iconic son of Mother India, #Gaganyatri Shubhanshu Shukla lands at Delhi in the early hours of morning today. Accompanying him, another equally accomplished Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, one of the astronauts selected for India’s first Human mission Gaganyaan who was India’s designated backup for the mission to the International Space Station #ISS. Privileged to receive both of them at the New Delhi Airport along with Delhi CM Smt. Rekha Gupta @gupta_rekha, #ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan and later welcomed by a group of students."

Shukla, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday morning before heading to his hometown, Lucknow after spending the past year in the US training for the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS)

He will return to Delhi to participate in the National Space Day celebrations on August 22–23.

Various people from different parts of Delhi and the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana gathered with tricolours waving in their hands at the Indira Gandhi International Airport waiting eagerly to welcome Shubhanshu Shukla in a grand manner.

Hailing the successful space mission feat achieved by the Indian astronaut, Dinesh Choudhary, a resident of Sector-21 in Ghaziabad's Loni, Uttar Pradesh, came to Delhi and said: "I am very happy that astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla has returned from space and arrive in India today and has brought honour and pride to the whole nation. Through this successful space mission, he has made the whole country proud. We can also proudly say that Bharat is truly great..."

Anshu Kumar, a Delhi resident, while lauding the achievement of Shubhanshu Shukla, told IANS: "Shubhanshu Shukla has achieved a proud moment for the country. I couldn't welcome Kaplana Chawla but I feel proud to receive Shubhanshu Shukla in a grand manner. I hope he continues to make the nation proud with his achievements in the future as well."

Another citizen lauding astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, told IANS: "It makes me feel proud to welcome Shubhanshu Shukla today who has made the whole country proud. He has filled the chest of 110 crore Indians with pride and has made the Tricolour fly higher in the sky and the country needs youth such as Shubhanshu Shukla to make the country truly 'Aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant), which is in sync with the direction and the vision which Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to take the nation forward towards.

Another supporter of Shubhanshu Shukla told IANS, "We have all come here, and Shubhanshu Shukla has brought pride to the nation. There is enthusiasm across the country that we, too, should learn from him..."

Earlier, while addressing the 79th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort, Prime Minister Modi highlighted India's plans to develop its own space station and noted that Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has recently returned from a successful space mission.

"Our Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has returned from the space station. In the coming days, he is returning to India," PM Modi had said.

Shukla was part of the Axiom-4 private space mission, which lifted off from Florida on June 25 and docked at the ISS on June 26. He returned to Earth on July 15.

During the 18-day mission, Shukla, along with astronauts Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary), conducted more than 60 experiments and 20 outreach sessions aboard the ISS.

Taking to social media platform Instagram on Saturday, Shukla shared an emotional post reminiscing about his journey and the excitement of meeting with friends and family.

"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," he wrote.

"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 added.

In June, Shukla became the first Indian to reach the ISS.

He returned on July 15, after an 18-day mission, which was packed with several experiments led by ISRO and other activities on the orbital lab.

Since then, he has been undergoing rehabilitation in the US.

Shukla said that he is waiting impatiently to reach the country and share his experiences, which are going to be valuable for India's future space endeavours, especially the Gaganyaan – India's first human spaceflight mission, which is targeting a launch by 2027.

"Having received incredible love and support from everyone during and after the mission, I can't wait to come back to India to share my experiences with all of you," he added.

Looking back at his colleagues, Shukla noted that although "goodbyes are hard", "we need to keep moving in life".

He also shared valuable advice from his commander, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson: "The only constant in spaceflight is change."

Stating that he "believes that it applies to life as well," Shukla shared a song from the Bollywood movie Swades, "at the end of the day Yun hi chala chal rahi - jeevan gaadi hai samay pahiya (loosely translated as just keep walking, traveller - life is a carriage, time is the wheel)".

Meanwhile, his family also expressed excitement over meeting him after his successful space mission.

"I am very excited. My son has successfully completed his mission and has come back. We are very excited that my son is coming back. We are trying to meet him as soon as possible. He is coming the day after tomorrow, and we will meet him in Delhi," Shukla's father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, told IANS.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that the IAF Group Captain will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi before traveling to his hometown of Lucknow to see his family.

--IANS

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