15 July 2025, 02:43 PM IST Share Splashing down off San Diego, the crew exited the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and underwent initial medical checks aboard the recovery vessel Shubhanshu Shukla | Screengrab New Delhi: Waving and smiling to the cameras, Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three fellow astronauts from the Axiom-4 mission emerged from SpaceX’s Dragon Grace spacecraft on Tuesday, marking the end of their 20-day space mission. The crew, Shukla, commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, were assisted out of the capsule by SpaceX ground personnel following a successful splashdown off the coast of San Diego, California. Recovery and first steps back on Earth The Dragon spacecraft, which served as the transporter for the Axiom-4 mission, splashed down at 3:01 pm IST, concluding a journey that included 18 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The crew was then lifted onto the recovery ship Shannon. Moments later, the astronauts exited the spacecraft via a small slide, where they were gently helped to their feet by recovery staff. Shukla and his crewmates appeared cautious as they took their first tentative steps, adjusting to Earth's gravity after nearly three weeks in microgravity. Health check and rehabilitation plans The Axiom-4 astronauts were undergoing medical evaluations aboard the recovery vessel to assess their condition post-mission. They are expected to be transported ashore via helicopter. The crew will now enter a seven-day rehabilitation programme to help them transition back to life on Earth. The effects of gravity on muscles and coordination following prolonged exposure to weightlessness necessitate structured physical recovery and monitoring. Historic return for India’s second astronaut in space Group Captain Shukla flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on 26 June, becoming the second Indian astronaut in history to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission. Alongside him were veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson (USA), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary). The crew boarded the Grace capsule at 3:30 a.m. CT (2:00 p.m. IST) on Monday for their return journey to Earth. Re-entry and splashdown mechanics The spacecraft’s de-orbit burn began over the Pacific Ocean and lasted 18 minutes. During atmospheric re-entry, the Dragon capsule was subjected to extreme conditions, with the heat shield facing temperatures as high as 1,600 degrees Celsius. A signal blackout occurred during this phase, cutting off communications for approximately seven minutes, a standard event during high-speed re-entry. Final re-entry procedures included detaching the capsule’s trunk and aligning the heat shield to face forward. Parachute deployment took place in two stages: stabilising chutes opened at an altitude of approximately 5.7 km at 2:57 pm IST, followed by the main parachutes at around 2 km above the ocean surface, leading to a smooth splashdown. First West Coast splashdown for Dragon since Fram2 SpaceX noted that this was Dragon’s second human spaceflight mission to splash down off California’s coast, following the Fram2 mission that returned to West Coast recovery operations in April. Previously, most splashdowns took place in the Atlantic Ocean. Shukla’s achievements on board the ISS During his 18-day stay aboard the orbital laboratory, Shukla completed over 310 orbits of Earth, travelling approximately 1.3 crore kilometres, roughly equivalent to 33 trips between the Earth and the Moon. The crew also experienced over 300 sunrises and sunsets from space during their mission. In a statement released on Monday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed that Group Captain Shukla had completed all seven planned microgravity experiments, calling it a "milestone in the mission". “Experiments on Indian strain of tardigrades, myogenesis, sprouting of methi and moong seeds, cyanobacteria, microalgae, crop seeds, and voyager display have been completed as planned,” ISRO noted. (With agency inputs)