New Delhi, Aug 16: After weeks of rehabilitation in the US, post his successful space mission, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on Saturday announced his return journey to India. He is expected to reach the country tomorrow.

Taking to social media platform Instagram, Shukla shared an emotional post reminiscing about his journey and the excitement of meeting with friends and family.

“As I sit on the plane to come back to India, I have a mix of emotions running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my friends and family for the past one year during this mission,” Shukla wrote.

“I am also excited about meeting all my friends, family, and everyone in the country for the first time post mission. I guess this is what life is - everything all at once,” he added.

In June, Shukla became the first Indian to reach the International Space Station (ISS). He returned on July 15, after an 18-day mission, which was packed with several experiments led by ISRO and other activities on the orbital lab. Since then, he has been undergoing rehabilitation in the US.

Shukla stated that he is waiting impatiently to reach the country and share his experiences, which are going to be valuable for India’s future space endeavours, especially the Gaganyaan – India's first human spaceflight mission, which is targeting a launch by 2027.

“Having received incredible love and support from everyone during and after the mission, I can't wait to come back to India to share my experiences with all of you,” Shukla said.

Looking back at his colleagues, Shukla noted that although “goodbyes are hard”, “we need to keep moving in life”.

He also shared valuable advice from his commander, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson: "The only constant in spaceflight is change”.

Stating that he “believes that it applies to life as well,” Shukla shared a song from the Bollywood movie Swades, “at the end of the day Yun hi chala chal rahi - jeevan gaadi hai samay pahiya (loosely translated as just keep walking, traveller - life is a carriage, time is the wheel)".

Meanwhile, his family also expressed excitement over meeting him after his successful space mission.

"I am very excited. My son has successfully completed his mission and has come back. We are very excited that my son is coming back. We are trying to meet him as soon as possible. He is coming the day after tomorrow, and we will meet him in Delhi," Shukla’s father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, told IANS.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that the IAF Group Captain will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi before traveling to his hometown of Lucknow to see his family.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the mission, saying that Shukla has inspired a billion dreams and taken a significant step in advancing India's space ambitions.

“IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is back from the International Space Station (ISS). Soon he will return to India. We are working on becoming self-reliant in the space sector, preparing for the launch of Gaganyaan, which is India's flagship human spaceflight programme. We will make our own space station,” the Prime Minister said, in his Independence Day address.

(IANS)

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