NASA retiree turned private astronaut Peggy Whitson splashed down safely in the Pacific early on Tuesday after her fifth trip to the International Space Station, joined by crewmates from India, Poland and Hungary returning from their countries' first ISS mission.

Shukla’s mission began with a launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on July 1, as part of the privately operated Axiom Space Mission-4. His arrival at the ISS marked a national milestone — the second Indian in space since Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission, and the very first to reach the orbiting laboratory.