Shubhanshu Shuklas Return
The way home has officially started for pilot Shubhanshu Shukla and his other Axiom Mission-4 crew members. Their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will undock from the International Space Station (ISS) at 4:35 pm IST on Monday, starting an almost 22.5-hour journey back to Earth. Splashdown off the coast of California is set for the next day.
Having spent slightly more than two weeks on the ISS, the four astronauts will return with over 580 pounds of cargo, such as NASA equipment and data from over 60 experiments run during their stay. Most interestingly, seven of these experiments had been suggested by ISRO.
In a tearful goodbye ceremony on Sunday night, the cosmonauts hugged each other and reciprocated words of gratitude.
Shukla reminisced about 1984, when Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian in space, saying that from there, India still seemed 'Sare Jahan Se Achha', words inscribed by poet Allama Iqbal.
Once the Dragon spacecraft breaks away from the Harmony module of the ISS, it travels back to Earth in a precisely planned trajectory. NASA confirmed hatch closure would begin at 2 pm IST on Monday, followed by pre-launch inspections.
The spacecraft's descent involves a series of processes: orbital alignment, de-orbit burns, and orbit lowering, all intended to decrease its altitude progressively from the ISS's 400 km orbit.
These actions, spanning close to a day, are essential in ensuring a secure re-entry, timely parachute deployment, and precise splashdown. NASA also stated that the schedule involves up to an hour of flexibility, subject to real-time estimates and weather.
After ground control has issued the final permission and recovery groups are in place, the final stage of re-entry takes place. Boats will proceed to pick up the astronauts and take them back to base minutes after splashdown.
The astronauts are to spend a duration of approximately ten days in quarantine, during which they would adjust to Earth's gravity. This is preceded by initial medical examinations and health tests, which are important for continuing research into the effects of microgravity on human health.
Commanded by seasoned NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Axiom-4 mission had Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as pilot, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski from Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
This privately funded spaceflight mission, funded by Rs 550 crore contributed by ISRO, is another step in global cooperation in space exploration.
