Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to return to India on Sunday (August 17, 2025) after his historic visit to the International Space Station (ISS) and is eager to share his experiences with friends and colleagues back home as ISRO eyes its maiden human spaceflight in 2027.

Mr. Shukla, who has been in the U.S., training for the Axiom-4 mission to ISS for the past year, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and travel to his hometown Lucknow soon after.

Shubhanshu Shukla’s ISS experience to prove valuable for Gaganyaan: ISRO chairman V. Narayanan

He is expected to be back in the capital to participate in the National Space Day celebrations on August 22-23.

Mr. Shukla posted on Instagram a smiling photograph of himself sitting in an aeroplane, and said in its caption that he was filled with mixed emotions as he left the U.S. and could not wait to return to India to share his experiences with everyone back home.