Axiom Mission 4 is set for launch with Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla onboard; here’s all your questions answered

Piloted by India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, the mission marks a significant milestone, fulfilling the commitment made by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send an ISRO astronaut to the station.

Who are the founders of Axiom Space?

Axiom Space was founded in 2016 by Kam Ghaffarian and Michael Suffredini.

When is the Axiom launch?

The private mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and is targeted for launch at 8:22 am EDT (5:52 pm IST), Tuesday, June 10.

The Ax-4 crew and SpaceX teams, on Monday, successfully completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of its launch.

In a post on X, SpaceX said, “The Ax-4 crew and SpaceX teams completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of liftoff on Tuesday.”

The mission will also carry the first astronauts from Hungary and Poland to the space station.

The targeted docking time is approximately 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 11, according to NASA.

Who are the Axiom Mission 4 crew members?

The Ax-4 mission features an international crew from the United States, India. Poland and Hungary.

Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, Peggy Whitson, will command the commercial mission, and ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot.

The private mission also carries ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

Who is the Indian astronaut in the crew?

Among the crew members, 39-year-old Indian Air Force pilot Shubhanshu Shukla will be the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma, who undertook a spaceflight in 1984. Shukla is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune. He was commissioned into the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter wing in June 2006 and became Group Captain in March 2024. Shukla has 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.

After receiving a call from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2019, Shukla underwent rigorous training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Moscow, Russia. In February 2024, the pilot was picked as the prime astronaut for ISRO’s maiden human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, scheduled for 2026.

What is the duration of the mission?

The crew will travel to the ISS on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and is scheduled to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory.

The crew’s approximately two-week stay includes conducting a mission comprising science, education, and commercial activities

It will conclude when the spacecraft exits the space station.

What is the mission objective?

The space agencies, NASA and ISRO, are taking part in five joint science investigations and two in-orbit science, technology, engineering, and mathematics demonstrations, said NASA. “NASA and ISRO have a long-standing relationship built on a shared vision to advance scientific knowledge and expand space collaboration,” NASA said in a statement on its website.

“NASA’s mission responsibility is for integrated operations, which begins during the spacecraft’s approach to the space station, continues during the crew’s approximately two-week stay aboard the orbiting laboratory while conducting science, education, and commercial activities, and concludes once the spacecraft exits the station,” the space agency said.

ISRO, in a statement, said that its ‘Gaganyatri’ will carry out shortlisted Indian microgravity research experiments onboard ISS.

“ISRO has shortlisted seven microgravity research experiments proposed by Indian Principal Investigators (PIs) from various national R&D laboratories/ academic institutions for implementation on International Space Station (ISS) during the upcoming Axiom-4 mission with ISRO’s Gaganyatri,” the Indian space agency said.

The experiments are:

– Impact of Microgravity Radiation in ISS on Edible Microalgae

– Sprouting Salad Seeds in Space: Relevance to Crew Nutrition

– Survival, revival, reproduction, and transcriptome of the eutardigrade Paramacrobiotus sp. BLR strain in space

– Effect of metabolic supplements on muscle regeneration under microgravity

– Analysing Human Interaction with Electronic Displays in Microgravity

– Comparative growth and proteomics responses of cyanobacteria on urea and nitrate in microgravity

– Impact of Microgravity on Growth and Yield Parameters in Food Crop Seeds

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