Lucknow: As Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla returns home after a successful mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Lucknow is preparing to honour the city’s space hero. The local administration has proposed naming a road and a park after the astronaut, who recently became the first Indian in 41 years to travel to space.
City Mayor Sushma Kharakwal confirmed that a proposal has been submitted to name the road leading to Shukla’s residence and a prominent park in the city in his honour.
“Shubhanshu Shukla has made Lucknow and the entire nation proud. It’s a moment of immense pride that someone from our city is now known across the world. When he arrives in Lucknow, all Municipal Councillors will welcome him at the airport,” Kharakwal told.
Shukla, who took part in NASA’s Axiom-4 (AX-4) space mission, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25 and returned to Earth on July 15, splashing down off the California coast. He landed in New Delhi in the early hours of Sunday.
The Lok Sabha briefly discussed India’s achievement during a special session on the role of the space programme in the ‘Viksit Bharat by 2047’ vision. Speaker Om Birla congratulated Shukla on his return, while Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, lauded the mission’s significance and criticised opposition parties for not acknowledging the nation’s achievements in space.
“It’s surprising that even the success of our space missions fails to draw appreciation from the Opposition,” Singh said in the Lok Sabha, amid protests from MPs demanding a discussion on Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. “Shubhanshu Shukla is not just an astronaut but also a disciplined officer of the Indian Air Force. He doesn’t belong to any political party.”
Singh also highlighted the role of space technology in “Operation Sindoor” and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership over the past decade for accelerating India’s space ambitions.
“India always had the talent and the will. What was missing was political harmony and vision. That changed in 2014,” Singh added.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor broke from the Opposition’s protest to praise Shukla’s mission, calling it a critical step toward India’s upcoming human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan.
“All Indians are proud of Commander Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission. It marks a significant milestone on the path to India’s human spaceflight ambitions,” Tharoor stated.
With Shukla’s return, celebrations are expected to unfold across Lucknow, as residents prepare to welcome their hometown hero.
