NEW DELHI: After weeks of rehabilitation in the US, post his successful space mission, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on Saturday announced his return journey to India. He is expected to reach the country tomorrow.
Taking to social media platform Instagram, Shukla shared an emotional post reminiscing about his journey and the excitement of meeting with friends and family.
“As I sit on the plane to come back to India, I have a mix of emotions running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my friends and family for the past one year during this mission, ” Shukla wrote.
“I am also excited about meeting all my friends, family, and everyone in the country for the first time post mission. I guess this is what life is - everything all at once, ” he added.
In June, Shukla became the first Indian to reach the International Space Station (ISS). He returned on July 15, after an 18-day mission, which was packed with several experiments led by ISRO and other activities on the orbital lab. Since then, he has been undergoing rehabilitation in the US.
Shukla stated that he is waiting impatiently to reach the country and share his experiences, which are going to be valuable for India’s future space endeavours, especially the Gaganyaan – India's first human spaceflight mission, which is targeting a launch by 2027.
“Having received incredible love and support from everyone during and after the mission, I can't wait to come back to India to share my experiences with all of you, ” Shukla said.
Looking back at his colleagues, Shukla noted that although “goodbyes are hard”, “we need to keep moving in life”.
He also shared valuable advice from his commander, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson: "The only constant in spaceflight is change”.