Jul 09, 2025 Indian Air Force officer Shubhanshu Shukla and the Axiom-4 team are wrapping up their 14-day science trip on the International Space Station. Their return, expected soon, will be confirmed by NASA based on weather near Florida's splashdown site. How the crew will return to Earth The crew will ride back in a SpaceX Dragon capsule, which undocks from the ISS and uses controlled burns to drop altitude before re-entering Earth's atmosphere at super high speeds. Thanks to a heavy-duty heat shield (it can handle up to 3800°C!) , they'll splash down safely off Florida once recovery teams give the all-clear. India's 1st government-backed ISS mission in over 40 years Axiom-4 is India's first government-backed flight to the ISS in over 40 years. While aboard, Shukla worked on cool experiments—like studying cyanobacteria, freezing seeds for future crops on Earth, testing microalgae as astronaut food, and seeing how long screen time affects thinking in space.