Lucknow, June 9 -- Brimming with pride and emotion, the family and neighbours of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla are praying for his safe and successful mission as he gears up to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Axiom Space's fourth private astronaut mission (Ax-4), marking a historic moment for India's space collaboration with NASA.

The mission is scheduled to lift off at 8:22 am IST on June 10 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket.

Speaking to ANI, Group Captain Shukla's mother, Asha Shukla, shared her emotions ahead of the historic journey.

"We pray to god that his mission is successful and he makes India proud. We are already proud of him... We pray for his healthy jou...