Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is likely to have a very different experience of space travel compared to Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to accomplish the feat in a Soviet mission way back in 1984. Shukla will become the second Indian in space as part of the Axiom 4 private mission, which was scheduled to launch earlier this week and reach the International Space Station (ISS), but has now been postponed. The intervening years following Sharma’s trip have seen a dramatic evolution of technologies that have made human spaceflights safer, easier, and much more comfortable. There has been a spurt in human spaceflights in recent years, particularly with the arrival of private players, who have been instrumental in expediting the pace of technological change. This has also enabled a growing number of people who are not professional astronauts or linked to any space agency to venture into space. Both the hardware and software of human spaceflight have changed considerably. Computational ability and automation Today’s spacecraft are more automated and require fewer interventions from the astronauts travelling inside. “The computational capability of the spacecraft, indeed the entire mission, has increased several times over the last four decades. The kind of automations that are available to the astronauts now were certainly not there when Rakesh Sharma went to space,” said R Umamaheshwaran, the former head of ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru. “For example, any small manoeuvres that were needed to correct the alignment of the spacecraft in the 1980s would have to be done manually by looking at the horizon and stars through the porthole. Now, of course, all of this is fully automated,” Umamaheshwaran said. Improvements in machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms have allowed scientists on the ground to create hyper-realistic simulations of space for astronauts, something not possible in the 1980s. “These simulations can be very helpful in helping the astronauts with their decision-making process,” he said. Safe and healthier Spacecraft transporting humans are far safer now compared to those used in the 1980s and 1990s. The safety protocols are much more stringent, and the amount of acceptable risk has reduced drastically. For one, the spacecraft is now fitted with precise sensors that enable much better vehicle health monitoring in real time. “Crew escape systems are put in place to avert any disaster at different points during the ascent. The mission can be aborted on the launch pad or even during the flight in case something untoward happens. In such a scenario, the crew module will have to shoot away from the vehicle at a speed that is faster than the waves of an explosion, but not so fast that the astronauts pass out. All of this requires accurate measurements of different systems and predictions on what could happen. This has really improved over the years, making spaceflight much more safer,” Umamaheshwaran said. Further, there have been several advancements in materials, resulting in safer and better spacecraft. The human-rated crew modules have since become double-walled (a spacecraft with two walls and empty space between them), which reduces the risk of explosions on impact with debris. The crew module designed for the Gaganyaan mission, India’s first indigenous human spaceflight initiative, is also double-walled. It will have a pressurised inner structure where the astronauts would be seated and an unpressurised external structure with a thermal protection system. More comfort Space travel has, over time, become more comfortable for astronauts. Newer materials have enabled the designing of lighter space suits, which allow for greater mobility. “There has also been a lot of research on the foods that can be carried to space. Different laboratories in India have also been working to develop foods such as biryani that can be carried to space,” Umamaheshwaran said. Shukla, for example, will be carrying aamras, gajar ka halwa, moong dal halwa, and rice for Axiom-4. This also matters in the context of Gaganyaan. Since its announcement in 2018, ISRO has been working on crucial technologies and processes, such as design and fabrication of the crew and service module for the astronauts, human rating the country’s largest launch vehicle LVM3, testing crew escape systems, developing from scratch a the environment control system to maintain temperature, humidity, and oxygen and carbon-dioxide levels, and setting up a centre and training astronauts. India is also aiming to set up its space station by 2035 and send a person to the moon by 2040. “This mission (Axiom-4) will give an Indian astronaut the experience of living and working in Zero G, which will help him train and coach the others before our own mission. In addition, he will be able to tell us whether there are any minor changes that can be made, say to the environment control system or the space suit on the Gaganyaan mission, to make the journey more comfortable. Anything we learn on Axiom-4 will help us in our mission,” Umamaheshwaran said.
