Privately funded American space company Axiom Space successfully finished its Ax-4 mission on Tuesday morning, returning astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary from the International Space Station, and safely splashing down off the Californian coast.

India's astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and Axiom-4 crew will return to Earth on July 15, 2025, after 18 days on the ISS. Their splashdown off San Diego follows a 22.5-hour journey. Shukla's mission is significant as he is the second Indian in space.

The Axiom-04 mission has successfully concluded with the return of ISRO Gaganyatri Shubhanshu Shukla, marking a proud moment both for ISRO and India as he returned after a historic 18-day scientific mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The four astronauts of Axiom Mission 4 were the latest to make a splashdown off the coast of California following a stint at the space station.

Shukla’s 20-day mission to the ISS on board SpaceX equipment tagged along a significant ticket price of approximately Rs 550 crores.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has returned to Earth after spending 18 days at the International Space Station. He became the second Indian after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma to go to space since 1984 and the first Indian to go to the space station.