LOS ANGELES – Astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary safely returned to Earth alongside NASA veteran Peggy Whitson, concluding the Axiom-4 mission after 18 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The team’s capsule, launched by SpaceX, landed in the Pacific Ocean near Southern California early Tuesday morning.
The mission was organized by Texas-based Axiom Space in collaboration with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The capsule reentered Earth’s atmosphere at intense speeds, generating extreme heat, before parachuting down into calm waters near San Diego. The spacecraft’s safe landing was broadcast live through infrared cameras.
Leading the mission was Peggy Whitson, 65, a retired NASA astronaut and the first woman to command the ISS. This marked her fifth spaceflight, bringing her total time in space to 695 days. Whitson now serves as Axiom Space’s director of human spaceflight and praised her team’s successful journey back to Earth.
The diverse crew included India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu. Their participation marked the first ISS missions by their respective countries and the first crewed spaceflights for their national agencies in over four decades.
During the 18-day stay aboard the ISS, the team conducted over 60 microgravity experiments. They returned with science samples that will now be analyzed by researchers on Earth. Their mission also strengthens future programs like India’s Gaganyaan, scheduled for launch in 2027.
Axiom-4 was launched on June 25 aboard a newly built SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule named “Grace.” It became the 18th crewed mission by SpaceX since 2020 and the fourth ISS mission by Axiom, which is working toward launching its own commercial space station before the ISS retires in 2030.