Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla Set to Make History on ISS Mission
- Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to become the first Indian aboard the International Space Station on June 10 via Axiom Space’s Mission-4.
- Shukla will conduct unique food and nutrition experiments developed by ISRO, DBT, and NASA focusing on edible microalgae in microgravity.
- The Ax-4 mission includes a multinational crew and will carry out around 60 scientific studies with participation from 31 countries.
Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to make history as the first Indian to reach the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, June 10. The mission, named Ax-4, will be launched by US-based Axiom Space from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 8:22 a.m. ET (5:52 p.m. IST). After two prior delays, the launch is now scheduled with a backup opportunity set for June 11.
While Shukla will be the first Indian aboard the ISS, he is the second Indian to venture into space, following Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 flight to the Salyut 7 space station. Shukla has expressed confidence in the success of the mission and hopes to use his journey to inspire a new generation of Indians to pursue careers in space exploration, citing Sharma’s pioneering flight as a key motivation.
The Ax-4 mission will see Shukla piloting alongside Commander Peggy Whitson from the US, with mission specialists SÅawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary rounding out the crew. Once on the ISS, Shukla is expected to conduct exclusive experiments focused on food and nutrition in space.
These experiments are the result of a collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), and NASA. They aim to pioneer research on space nutrition and self-sustaining life support systems essential for long-duration space missions. The study will examine how microgravity and space radiation affect edible microalgae, a nutrient-rich food source with high potential for space travel. Researchers will analyze growth parameters and changes in transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes of various algal species in space compared to Earth conditions.
Axiom Space has prepared extensively for the launch, with the Ax-4 crew and SpaceX teams completing full rehearsals of launch day activities. The mission marks the second commercial spaceflight crewed entirely by government and ESA-sponsored astronauts. During the mission, the crew will conduct approximately 60 scientific studies and research projects involving contributions from 31 countries, including India, the US, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE, and several European nations.
As the countdown begins, global eyes remain fixed on this landmark mission that could inspire a new era of space exploration for India and the world.
