Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others are set to embark on Axiom Space’s fourth human spaceflight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Tuesday. They are likely to dock at the International Space Station on Wednesday at about 10 PM IST, after a nearly 28-hour journey.Shukla, serving as the mission pilot of the Axiom-4 (Ax4) commercial mission to the ISS, will be accompanied by mission commander Peggy Whitson and specialists Tibor Kapu from Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland. The Axiom-4 mission marks India’s return to space after 41 years since Rakesh Sharma’s historic spaceflight onboard Russia’s Soyuz mission in 1984. During the 14-day stay at the ISS, the Ax-4 crew is expected to interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, school students, and space industry leaders among others.
Shukla is set to conduct exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments developed under a collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with support from NASA. Shukla’s experience on the Axiom Mission 4 would be very well utilised on the Gaganyaan mission which is planned for 2027. ISRO is investing 550 crore rupees on the Axiom-4 mission.
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