Overview

• Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 18 and presented the tricolour he carried to the International Space Station.
• Lok Sabha held a special discussion titled ‘Critical role of the space programme for Viksit Bharat by 2047’ to honour his return, though most Opposition members did not attend.
• The private Axiom-4 flight, conducted by Axiom Space with SpaceX launch and NASA coordination, delivered India-funded experiments on human physiology and plant growth that will inform Gaganyaan systems.
• Shukla and his backup, Group Captain Prashanth Nair, remain in the Gaganyaan astronaut corps and are set to resume formal training at ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre in October.
• He is scheduled to participate in National Space Day celebrations in New Delhi on August 22–23 and to visit his hometown, Lucknow, in the coming week.