India’s first astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, delivered a stirring message during the formal farewell ceremony marking the conclusion of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4). The event took place onboard the ISS ahead of the crew’s scheduled undocking on July 14, with their return to Earth expected on July 15.
A farewell ceremony with NASA’s Expedition 73 crew was streamed live. During his address from space, Shukla echoed the words of pioneer Rakesh Sharma, remarking that India still looks “saare jahan se achcha” from orbit. He added, “India of today looks ambitious, fearless, confident and full of pride from space.” Reflecting on the mission, he said, “It has been an incredible journey, almost magical.”
Watch: Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla says, “…Forty-one years ago, an Indian went to space and told us how India looked from there. And somewhere, I feel that we all want to know how India looks today. Let me tell you—today’s India looks magnificent from space. Today’s India looks… pic.twitter.com/VAWhSfLDIg
— IANS (@ians_india) July 13, 2025
“It almost seems magical to me”: Shukla reflects on his journey
As part of the farewell ceremony with NASA’s Expedition 73 crew, Shukla expressed deep gratitude and awe for his 18-day journey in space. Reflecting on the experience, he said: “It has been amazing or incredible because of the people involved. The team has made it really special for us being here on this station, it was an incredible joy to be here and working with a bunch of professionals like you. For the past 2.5 weeks we have done a lot of science in the station, we have done a lot of outreach activities, and also look back at the earth. Whatever time we found, we were looking out the window. It almost seems magical to me.”
Shukla also extended heartfelt thanks to India and all those who supported him:
“I would like take this opportunity to thanks my country and all its citizens for supporting this mission and me with all their hearts. I would like to thank ISRO for making this happen, all the colleagues at ISRO who have worked tirelessly in developing all the protocol, the science and the outreach activities, the researchers back in India, the students who developed the outreach, items that I carried.”
Shukla’s Tribute to ISRO, SpaceX, and global teamwork
Shukla acknowledged the international collaboration that enabled the mission, especially praising the joint efforts by ISRO, Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX.
“I would also like to thank NASA and its international partners Axiom Space, SpaceX for ensuring that we were trained adequately well and providing all the support round the clock and all the people who are sitting on ground supporting this mission, making it successful.”
He underlined the global significance of the Ax-4 mission and the importance of collective human endeavour: “I believe that this mission will have an impact in all of our respective countries as well. Going back from here, I carry with me a lot of memories and lessons from this mission that I will try to share back. But the one thing that truly sticks to me is what humanity is capable of when we all come together from different parts of the world and work for a common goal or objective. It is truly incredible.”
Concluding his remarks, Shukla shared a heartfelt farewell message with a mix of inspiration and national pride: “It has been an incredible mission for me… Kamaal ki yatra rahi hai ye meri lekin ab meri ye yatra khatma hone wali hai. Aapki or meri yatra abhi bhot lambi hai. Humari human space mission ki yatra bohot lambi aur kathin bhi hai. Lekin agar hum nishchay kar le toh even stars are attainable. (It has been a remarkable journey for me, but now my journey is coming to an end. Yours and mine is a long journey ahead. Our human space mission journey is long and difficult, but if we are determined, even the stars are attainable.)”
Shukla also invoked the famous words of India’s first space traveller, Rakesh Sharma, offering a powerful modern-day reflection: “Aaj ka Bharat space se mahatvakanshi dikhta hai, aaj ka Bharat nidar dikhta hai, aaj ka Bharat confident dikhta hai, aaj ka Bharat garv se poorn dikhta hai, aaj ka Bharat abhi bhi sare jahan se acha dikhta hai, jald hi short par mulaqat karte hain. (Today’s India looks ambitious from space, it looks fearless, it looks confident, it is filled with pride, and today’s India still looks better than the entire world. See you soon on Earth.)”
The Ax-4 crew—comprising Commander Peggy Whitson, ISRO pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from the European Space Agency, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary’s HUNOR programme—is returning after conducting over 60 experiments aboard the ISS.
Their journey back to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is expected to last around 22 hours, bringing with it over 580 pounds of research material and hardware. The splashdown is scheduled to take place in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on July 15.
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