'Praying for his safe landing: Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's father ahead of his return to Earth

Lucknow | With Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on his way back to Earth after an 18-day space mission, his family in Lucknow is praying for an uncomplicated splash down so that the planned merrymaking at their residence could begin.

The family's home in Triveni Nagar area of the capital is decked up with celebratory lights and posters of "Shux", his nickname, hung outside the house.

His mother, Asha Shukla, and sister Suchi Shukla are busy receiving congratulatory phone calls on Shubhanshu's space journey.

Speaking to PTI Videos on Tuesday, Shubhanshu's father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, said, "Today is a very joyous day for us. We are praying to God for his safe landing. It is a matter of great happiness that he is returning after successfully completing his mission." "It is a moment of immense pride for us and for the country that he has completed such a significant mission," he added, expressing the family's deep sense of honour and fulfilment.

"Once the landing is safely done, we will celebrate here with our family, relatives, and well-wishers," he said.

On Shubhanshu's wife Kamna, who isn't there in Lucknow with them, Shambhu Dayal said they had an arranged marriage even though they studied in the same school.

"Now, of course, Kamna is in Florida but otherwise Shubhanshu, Kamna and their 6-year-old son Kiash live in Bangalore," he said.

Shubhanshu will turn 40 this October.

His sister, Suchi, said that Shubhanshu carried Indian desserts like 'gajar ka halwa and moong dal ka halwa' with him to the International Space Station as he is extremely fond of them.

Suchi said he wanted his co-passengers on his space journey to taste it as well. "From whatever we know through videos and posts, they all liked it so much," she said.

Shukla is returning aboard the Dragon 'Grace' spacecraft, which undocked from the ISS at 4:45 pm IST on Monday. He is joined by mission commander Peggy Whitson, along with Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary -- all part of the commercial Axiom-4 mission.

Their spacecraft is expected to splash down off the coast of San Diego, California, on Tuesday afternoon IST, concluding a 22.5-hour return journey and marking the end of their mission.

Shukla made history as the second Indian astronaut to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma's 1984 mission, adding a significant milestone to India's growing presence in international space exploration