Seeing loved ones after a long time is amazing: Shubhanshu Shukla meets family after 18 days in space

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla met his wife, Kamna, and six-year-old son Kiash following his 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

He was reunited with Kamna and Kiash in Houston, Texas. It was the first time Shukla met his family in two months.

In an emotional post on Instagram, Shukla wrote: "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."

"It was challenging. Coming back to Earth and holding my family back in my arms felt like home. Human spaceflight missions are magical but they are made magical by the humans," he wrote.

Writing a glorious chapter in India's space odyssey, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla splashed down off California with Ax-4 crew members on Tuesday.

Shukla returned to Earth after spending two weeks at the ISS.

He was the first Indian astronaut to reach the ISS.

Shukla and his fellow crew members- commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, returned to Earth after a 22-hour journey since they undocked from the ISS on Monday.

Axiom 4 or Mission 'Akash Ganga' is the first firm step for India's Gaganyaan human space flight mission.