New Delhi: Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS), will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening at his official residence, 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, officials confirmed. The meeting is scheduled between 5 pm and 5:30 pm.
Shukla, who returned to India on Sunday after completing the historic Axiom-4 mission, will also participate in the National Space Day celebrations on August 23. He was given a rousing welcome at the Delhi airport by his family, Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and cheering crowds waving the national flag.
A pilot on the Axiom-4 mission, Shukla launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre on June 25 and docked at the ISS on June 26. During his stay in space, he had a live conversation with PM Modi, who asked him to document his experiences for India’s future space endeavours.
The Prime Minister also lauded Shukla in his Independence Day address, highlighting India’s ambitions of setting up its own space station in the coming years.
Ahead of his arrival, Shukla shared an emotional post on Instagram. Posting a smiling selfie from the plane, he wrote about leaving behind his Axiom-4 teammates while looking forward to meeting his family and fellow Indians.
“I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my family during this mission. At the same time, I am excited about meeting everyone back home. Goodbyes are hard, but as my commander Peggy Whitson says, ‘the only constant in spaceflight is change’—a lesson that applies to life too,” he wrote.
The astronaut signed off with a line from the film Swades—“Yun Hi Chala Chal”—which he had chosen as his anthem for launch day.
In a rare gesture, the Lok Sabha will today hold a special discussion on India’s space journey, centred on Shukla’s landmark achievement. The debate is titled: “India’s first astronaut aboard the ISS – critical role of space programme for Viksit Bharat by 2047.”
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “Our hero Shubhanshu Shukla is back in India. To honour him, Parliament will hold an elaborate discussion on his mission and India’s space future.”
