Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla reunited with his family after an 18-day ISS mission, sharing emotional moments on Instagram.
Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla reunited with his family just a day after returning to Earth following his 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and the heartwarming images of their reunion have struck an emotional chord with Indians online.
The astronaut shared the images on Instagram, showing him embracing his wife and son after being apart for over two months. He said hugging his family after quarantining for several weeks felt like “home.”
“Space flight is amazing but seeing your loved ones after a long time is equally amazing. It has been 2 months since I entered quarantine. During the quarantine, family visits we had to be 8 m apart. My little one had to be told that he had germs on his hands and that is why he could not touch his father. Coming back to Earth and holding my family back in my arms felt like home,” he wrote in the caption.
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Shubhanshu Shukla made history after he became the first Indian to go to the International Space Station and only the second Indian to travel into space after Rakesh Sharma in 1984. Nicknamed Shux by his crewmates, Shukla returned to Earth on July 15 onboard SpaceX’s Dragon space capsule.
In the pictures, Shukla’s wife, Kamna, was seen embracing him with tears streaming down her face. His son leapt into his father’s arms and hugged him tight. The astronaut shared how the young boy was taught about quarantine protocols when he met Shukla in the weeks leading up to his space flight.
