Kumar Bahukhandi
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, Narendra Modi – Photo: ANI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Shubhanshu Shukla, who is on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Shubhanshu has gone on the Axiom-4 mission along with three other astronauts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday June 28, 2025 spoke to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is currently on a journey to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s Axiom 4 mission. Shubhanshu Shukla on Wednesday June 25, 2025 took off for the International Space Station (ISS) on a historic journey that marks India’s return to human spaceflight after a gap of 41 years.
Shubhanshu Shukla welcomed at ISS – File-Photo: ANI
These astronauts are with Shubhanshu Shukla in the mission
Along with Shubhanshu, Poland’s Slavos Ujnanski-Wisniewski, Hungary’s Tobor Kapu and mission commander Peggy Whitson are also included in this mission. This team of Axiom-4 mission left for the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday June 25 ,2025. This team will conduct scientific experiments there for two weeks. Earlier in 1984, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to travel to space under the Soviet Union’s mission.
Who is Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla
Shubhanshu started his career as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force in 2006. He was selected as an astronaut for the Gaganyaan mission in 2019. Between 2019 and 2021, he underwent basic training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia. After this, in 2025, he completed his training at SpaceX.
First picture of Axiom 4 Mission after docking. – Photo: Reuters
What did Shubhanshu’s parents say on the launch of the mission
Seeing Shubhanshu on the TV screen, his emotional mother Asha Shukla said, ‘This is a matter of great pride for all of us. We are very happy. These are tears of joy.’ She said, we were waiting for this moment for a long time. Today there is no limit to our happiness. At the same time, Shubhanshu’s father Shambhu Dayal Shukla said, our prayers and blessings are with him. We pray to God that the mission is successful.
