Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi
at his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence in New Delhi this evening. Officials said the meeting is likely to take place between 5 pm and 5:30 pm. Shukla returned to India on Sunday after his historic journey as pilot of the Axiom-4 mission, which launched from the Kennedy Space Centre on June 25 and docked with the ISS a day later. At the Delhi airport, he was received with a rousing welcome by his family, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and cheering crowds waving the tricolour. During his Independence Day address, PM Modi had made special mention of the astronaut’s feat. "Our Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has returned from the space station. In the coming days, he is returning to India," the Prime Minister said at the Red Fort while outlining India’s space ambitions. President Droupadi Murmu hailed Shukla's achievements, saying it had "fired a whole generation to dream bigger" and would play a key role in advancing India's Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission. Earlier, while still aboard the ISS, Shukla had spoken directly to PM Modi. The Prime Minister had encouraged him to record his experiences, telling him to document his training, stay, and learnings from space for the benefit of India’s upcoming missions. The astronaut will also participate in the National Space Day celebrations on August 23.
