Overview
- Shukla was officially greeted at Indira Gandhi International Airport by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan and his family
- His designated backup astronaut, Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, also returned to India and was present at the airport reception
- The Lok Sabha has scheduled a special discussion on August 18 titled “India’s first astronaut aboard the International Space Station – critical role of the space programme for Viksit Bharat by 2047”
- Shukla is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will participate in National Space Day events from August 22 to 23 in New Delhi
- ISRO has begun processing the mission’s scientific samples and will use operational lessons from the Axiom-4 flight to advance its Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme