India’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla returned to Lucknow on August 24 to a grand civic welcome after completing the Axiom-4 mission, becoming the first Indian to visit the ISS and concluding an 18-day flight that launched on June 25 and splashed down on July 15, 2025, according to ISRO and media reports. Crowds lined a 6 km procession route, with ceremonies at City Montessori School and a state felicitation attended by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who announced a scholarship in Shukla’s name for students in space technology and highlighted Uttar Pradesh’s expanding space-education programs. Shukla, an IAF test pilot and mission pilot on Ax-4 alongside Peggy Whitson, reported conducting India-led microgravity experiments and extensive outreach, calling the mission “very exhilarating”.