India, Aug. 23 -- LUCKNOW The city is preparing to accord a grand welcome to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is scheduled to arrive in his hometown on August 25 for the first time after the historic mission to the International Space Station. Mayor Sushma Kharkwal, the first citizen of Lucknow, along with corporators and Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) officials, will receive him at the airport.

Shukla is the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS). He, along with other fellow astronauts, returned to Earth last month after his 20-day space sojourn as part of Axiom Mission 4.

In a meeting on Friday, the LMC decided to celebrate the astronaut's return from space with city-wide festivities. To mar...