NEW DELHI: Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla returned safely to Earth on Tuesday afternoon as SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, Grace, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego around 3:02pm IST, bringing the nearly three-week Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission to a close.

Shukla, along with three other Ax-4 astronauts, had undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 4.45pm on Monday. The capsule’s de-orbit burn began at 2.07pm Tuesday, after which it descended towards Earth, deploying drogue and main parachutes before splashdown. Weather conditions at the recovery site remained favourable, with no rain, lightning, or high winds, according to Axiom Space.Recovery teams quickly reached the capsule, performed safety checks, and lifted it onto a ship using a hydraulic cradle. The astronauts were then flown back to land by helicopter for medical evaluations, debriefs, and recovery procedures.During their mission aboard the ISS, the Ax-4 crew conducted over 60 experiments from 31 countries, including seven led by India’s ISRO. Shukla’s return marks a milestone for India’s growing presence in commercial spaceflight.Just before undocking, Nasa astronaut Nichole Ayers shared photos of giving haircuts to the Ax-4 crew, including Shukla. “We said goodbye to our Ax4 friends today. I was just reminiscing on the haircuts from last weekend… We joked about how I might have a future in the haircutting business when I get back on Earth,” Ayers wrote on X.