India, July 14 -- The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three other crew members will return to Earth viasplashdown-a controlled descent into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California-marking the conclusion of the Axiom Mission 4.

The hatch of the Dragon Grace spacecraft, which linked it to the International Space Station, was sealed at 2:37 PM IST, after which the crew began final preparations ahead of their scheduled undocking from the orbital lab at 4:35 PM IST, according to NASA.

The return marks the end of a nearly two-week private spaceflight mission involving international astronauts from India, Europe, and Hungary, along with a veteran American commander.

Unlike atouchdown, where a spa...