NEW DELHI: A light-hearted video from the International Space Station (ISS) featuring Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has gone viral on social media, showing the Ax-4 crew attempting to take group photos in microgravity. The video was shared by Colonel Anne McClain, who captured the crew’s playful struggle to pose mid-air.
“How do we take group photos in space? We cannot ask a passerby for help, so we set up a camera to take a photo every 5 seconds, get in position, then stop to smile at the camera. Looks a little chaotic, but it works!” McClain wrote on X.
The cheerful moment surfaced just hours before Shukla and his fellow Axiom-4 (Ax-4) crew members undocked from the ISS on Monday, wrapping up a nearly 20-day scientific mission in orbit.
Launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center on June 25, the Ax-4 mission covered over 310 orbits and travelled 1.3 crore km — approximately 33 times the distance between Earth and Moon. The crew docked with the ISS on June 26 and conducted more than 60 experiments from 31 countries, including seven led by India’s ISRO.
On Monday, at around 2.50 pm IST, the crew closed the hatch of their Dragon capsule, named Grace. By 4.45 pm, the spacecraft successfully undocked from the ISS. The capsule is now on a 22.5-hour return journey to Earth, carrying over 580 kg of cargo, including the scientific payload.
Before the undocking, Shukla and mission commander Peggy Whitson were fully suited by 2.11 pm, while specialists Tibor Kapu and Slawosz Uznanski followed by 2.47 pm. NASA and SpaceX teams completed all safety checks, including leak tests and depressurisation, before issuing the undocking command.
Grace performed its initial departure burns at 4.46 pm and 4.51 pm and is scheduled to carry out two more burns over the next 90 minutes to distance itself from the ISS and stabilise its orbit. The de-orbit burn is planned for 2.07 pm IST on Tuesday (July 15), with splashdown targeted for 3 pm off the coast of California.
Axiom said ground teams are closely monitoring weather conditions — including wind speeds under 10 mph and the absence of rain or lightning — to ensure a safe recovery. Roughly 50 minutes after the de-orbit burn, the capsule will deploy drogue parachutes followed by the main ones for a controlled descent.
Upon splashdown, recovery teams will board the capsule, conduct safety and medical checks, and airlift the astronauts for further health evaluations and debriefs.
With this mission, Shukla joins the growing list of Indian-origin astronauts contributing to global space research — and now, to space humour as well.
“How do we take group photos in space? We cannot ask a passerby for help, so we set up a camera to take a photo every 5 seconds, get in position, then stop to smile at the camera. Looks a little chaotic, but it works!” McClain wrote on X.
How do we take group photos in space? We cannot ask a passerby for help, so we set up a camera to take a photo every 5 seconds, get in position, then stop to smile at the camera. Looks a little chaotic, but it works! pic.twitter.com/0pJpj0o0gE
— COL Anne McClain (@AstroAnnimal) July 14, 2025
The cheerful moment surfaced just hours before Shukla and his fellow Axiom-4 (Ax-4) crew members undocked from the ISS on Monday, wrapping up a nearly 20-day scientific mission in orbit.
Launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center on June 25, the Ax-4 mission covered over 310 orbits and travelled 1.3 crore km — approximately 33 times the distance between Earth and Moon. The crew docked with the ISS on June 26 and conducted more than 60 experiments from 31 countries, including seven led by India’s ISRO.
On Monday, at around 2.50 pm IST, the crew closed the hatch of their Dragon capsule, named Grace. By 4.45 pm, the spacecraft successfully undocked from the ISS. The capsule is now on a 22.5-hour return journey to Earth, carrying over 580 kg of cargo, including the scientific payload.
Before the undocking, Shukla and mission commander Peggy Whitson were fully suited by 2.11 pm, while specialists Tibor Kapu and Slawosz Uznanski followed by 2.47 pm. NASA and SpaceX teams completed all safety checks, including leak tests and depressurisation, before issuing the undocking command.
Grace performed its initial departure burns at 4.46 pm and 4.51 pm and is scheduled to carry out two more burns over the next 90 minutes to distance itself from the ISS and stabilise its orbit. The de-orbit burn is planned for 2.07 pm IST on Tuesday (July 15), with splashdown targeted for 3 pm off the coast of California.
Axiom said ground teams are closely monitoring weather conditions — including wind speeds under 10 mph and the absence of rain or lightning — to ensure a safe recovery. Roughly 50 minutes after the de-orbit burn, the capsule will deploy drogue parachutes followed by the main ones for a controlled descent.
Upon splashdown, recovery teams will board the capsule, conduct safety and medical checks, and airlift the astronauts for further health evaluations and debriefs.
With this mission, Shukla joins the growing list of Indian-origin astronauts contributing to global space research — and now, to space humour as well.
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