Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla returned to India in the early hours on Sunday, a month after the successful completion of the historic Axiom-4 mission. Shukla is only the second Indian astronaut to go to space and the first on the International Space Station.(PTI)

Shukla, after landing in Delhi, met ISRO chairman Dr V Narayanan, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and Union MoS for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh.

Singh shared a post on X alongside a video of Shukla meeting with dignitaries and leaders upon his arrival. “India’s Space glory touches the Indian soil… as the iconic son of Mother India, #Gaganyatri Shubhanshu Shukla lands at Delhi in the early hours of morning today,” Singh said in the post.

Shukla was also accompanied by Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, who had been selected as a backup for the Axiom-4 mission, as part of which he stayed 21 days in space.

“Privileged to receive both of them at the New Delhi Airport along with Delhi CM Smt. Rekha Gupta @gupta_rekha, #ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan and later welcomed by a group of students,” Singh said on X.

Shukla was a mission pilot on the Axiom-4 mission, and lifted off from the earth aboard the Dragon Grace spacecraft on June 25, along with mission commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu.

Shukla is only the second Indian astronaut in space and the first on the International Space Station. Shukla earlier expressed his gratitude to the Indian government, Isro, Indian Air Force, NASA, and SpaceX, saying that the 21 days in space exceeded his expectations.

“It has filled me with a sense of purpose. This is only the beginning,” Shukla said.