‘Tell Your Loved Ones You Love Them,’ Says Astronaut Shukla

NEW DELHI (IANS)- After an 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla emotionally reunited with his wife, Kamna Shukla, and six-year-old son, Kiash Shukla, on July 16.

“Coming back to Earth and holding my family back in my arms felt like home. Find a loved one today and tell them that you love them. We often get busy in life and forget how important the people in our lives are. Human spaceflight missions are magical, but they are made magical by the humans,” the astronaut posted on social media.

Shukla emphasized that while space flight is amazing, seeing loved ones after a long time is equally profound. He recounted the challenges of his two-month quarantine period leading up to the mission. “During the quarantine, family visits, we had to be 8 m apart. My little one had to be told that he had germs on his hands and that is why he could not touch his father.” He added, “Every time he would come for the visit he would ask his mom ‘Can I wash my hands?’ It was challenging.”

Shubhanshu Shukla made history as the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station. The 20-day mission, a collaboration led by private American company Axiom Space with NASA, SpaceX, and other government space agencies including ISRO, launched to the ISS on June 26. Shukla returned to Earth on July 15, alongside fellow astronauts from the US, Poland, and Hungary, aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft “Grace.”

Lucknow-born Shukla was included in ISRO’s astronaut selection process in 2019, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2018 announcement that an Indian would soon go to space. In January 2025, the 39-year-old astronaut was selected as the pilot for the Ax-4 mission, a collaborative endeavor between NASA and ISRO.

The IAF officer also holds the distinction of being the youngest astronaut-designate under India’s Gaganyaan mission, the country’s first human spaceflight mission. Shukla’s recent ISS mission is considered a significant inspiration for millions in India and a key stepping stone for the nation’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission, slated for 2027.