Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday welcomed the return of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla–India’s first astronaut to have visited the International Space Station– from his historic space mission. Calling Shukla’s journey an inspiration for a billion dreams, the Prime Minister noted that the mission marked a milestone towards India’s Human Space Flight Mission– Gaganyaan.

“I join the nation in welcoming Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as he returns to Earth from his historic mission to Space. As India’s first astronaut to have visited the International Space Station, he has inspired a billion dreams through his dedication, courage and pioneering spirit. It marks another milestone towards our own Human Space Flight Mission – Gaganyaan,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

Group Captain Shukla– an Indian Air Force pilot– and three other astronauts of the commercial Axiom-4 mission made a fiery return to Earth after the Dragon ‘Grace’ spacecraft made a splash down off the San Diego coast in southern California on Tuesday.

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