{ SAYS SHUBHANSHU SHUKLA } AXIOM-4 MISSION TO UNDOCK TODAY 'India still looks saare jahan se accha from space'

MUMBAI: India continues to look “saare jahan se acha" from space, group captain Shubhanshu Shukla said on Sunday, reprising the words used by his icon Rakesh Sharma in 1984, as he wrapped up his 18-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS).

- Snehal Fernandes

Shukla and three other astronauts — commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu of Poland and Hungary-docked at the ISS on June 26 as part of the commercial Axiom-4 mission. They are scheduled to undock from the ISS on Monday, July14, at 4.35pm IST, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said ina statement.

“Jaldi hi dharti pe mulagat karte hai (we will meet on earth soon),” Shukla said at a formal farewell ceremony onboard the ISS on Sunday.