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After a safe splashdown off the California coast, the crew will undergo medical checks and spend at least ten days in quarantine acclimatising to the gravity on Earth.
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others on board the SpaceX Dragon. (News18)
The countdown to home has begun. Once the SpaceX Dragon capsule undocks from the International Space Station precisely at 4:35 pm IST on Monday, the Axiom Mission-4 crew including pilot Shubhanshu Shukla will take nearly 22.5 hours to return to Earth, with a splashdown expected a day later.
The four-crew members are set to return home after spending a little more than two weeks at the microgravity laboratory, carrying with them more than 580 pounds of Cargo, including NASA hardware, and data from over 60 experiments conducted during the mission. Seven of these experiments were shortlisted by ISRO.
In a heartfelt farewell ceremony on Sunday evening, the astronauts exchanged words of gratitude. An emotional Shukla evoked memories of 1984 when Cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian in space – highlighting that India still looked, ‘Sare Jahan Se Achha’ from space, echoing words of poet Allama Iqbal.
WHY IS THE JOURNEY 22.5 HOURS LONG?
Once it undocks, the Dragon will take nearly 22.5 hours to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and splashdown off the California coast. NASA has confirmed that the hatch closure will begin at 2 pm IST on Monday. Following the completion of all pre-departure checks, the SpaceX Dragon capsule will undock from the ISS’s Harmony module at 4:35 pm IST.
While these operations are automated, the final go-ahead for undocking will depend on favourable weather conditions for re-entry. The space agency also noted that the timings include a standard margin of upto one hour.
The SpaceX Dragon spends nearly a day in orbit, as it carries out a series of maneuvers to lower its orbit from the 400 kms where the ISS orbits the Earth. It follows a carefully planned sequence – including orbital alignment, de-orbit burn, and orbit lowering before it finally readies for re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere – to ensure maximum safety, parachute deployment and precise splashdown. These maneuvers are planned at a precise altitude, aligning with the spacecraft’s return trajectory.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER SPLASHDOWN?
The last step of re-entry begins once there is a go-ahead from the ground stations, and the recovery teams are on stand-by. Within minutes, the boats will set off to evacuate the astronauts and bring them to the base. The crew is likely to spend about ten days in quarantine, acclimatizing to the gravity on Earth.
This is preceded by initial medical checks, and basic health evaluations, which is also crucial for long-term studies that scientists are doing on astronauts’ health in microgravity.
The four-member mission was led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as pilot, and two mission specialists – Slawosz Uznanski of Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The mission was a private spaceflight collaboration with ISRO investing Rs 550 crore.
Srishti Choudhary, Senior Assistant Editor at CNN-News18 specializes in science, environment, and climate change reporting. With over a decade of extensive field experience, she has brought incisive ground repo…Read More
Srishti Choudhary, Senior Assistant Editor at CNN-News18 specializes in science, environment, and climate change reporting. With over a decade of extensive field experience, she has brought incisive ground repo… Read More
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