ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to pilot Axiom-4 mission on June 10, become first Indian to join ISS: 10 things to know

The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission crew is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station on June 10 at 8:22 AM EDT (5:52 pm IST). ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is part of the four-member crew and will pilot the historic Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS). The crew is likely to dock at the ISS on June 11 at about 10 pm IST, after a nearly 28-hour journey.

The mission is expected to last 14 days. The spaceflight was originally scheduled for May 29 and then rescheduled to June 8. It will now finally take off on June 10.

Here's all you need to know about Shubhanshu Shukla and his Axiom-4 mission in 10 points:

1. Ax-4 will be the first time astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary conduct a mission on board the International Space Station. It also marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history.

2. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will become the first Indian to join the ISS, and only the second ever in orbit. The Axiom-4 mission will mark India's return to space 41 years after Rakesh Sharma's historic spaceflight onboard Russia's Soyuz mission in 1984.

Shubhanshu Shukla is a distinguished pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF). He has been handpicked as one of the four astronauts for the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) historic Gaganyaan mission — the nation’s inaugural human space flight endeavor.

Shukla's experience on the Axiom Mission 4 would be very well utilised on the Gaganyaan mission, which is planned for 2027.

3. Shukla, the mission pilot of the Axiom-4 (Ax4) commercial mission to the ISS, will be accompanied by former NASA astronaut and mission commander Peggy Whitson, specialists Tibor Kapu from Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland.

4. Axiom-4 mission has lined up 60 experiments to be conducted by the four-member crew onboard the ISS, including seven planned by ISRO and five others that Shukla will participate in for NASA’s human research programme. Shukla will also participate in five joint studies planned by NASA for its human research program.

Shukla is set to conduct exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments. He will also expose the seeds to the macrobiotic conditions and bring them back to earth, where they will be cultivated into plants not just once but over generations. Shukla has also promised to perform yoga poses in the ISS.

5. Science and Technology minister Jitendra Singh said India is set to conduct its first-ever biological experiments aboard the ISS to study the sustainability of human life in space.

He said the first experiment at the ISS will examine the impact of microgravity and space radiation on the growth of edible microalgae, a nutrient-rich potential food source for long-duration space missions.

Besides, Shukla will study physical, cognitive and physiological responses in space as well as the impact of utilizing continuous electronic displays in microgravity, an important aspect for future long-duration space missions, Jitendra Singh was quoted by PTI as saying.

6. Each astronaut aboard the Axiom- mission will be contributing to a first-of-its-kind medical study — an experiment called Suite Ride — that could redefine who gets to go to space.

Axiom Space has partnered with Burjeel Holdings to test a suite of tools and technologies needed to support astronauts with insulin-dependent diabetes, enabling them to live and work in space.

7. 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.

8. Shukla said he will also be carrying a special memento on his space flight for his mentor Rakesh Sharma. He said the special memento would be revealed once he returns from the Axiom-4 mission and meets Sharma, who has guided him throughout the training period.

9. Shukla said he would be carrying Indian delicacies such as mango nectar, moong dal halwa and carrot halwa on the space flight. On the Indian cultural reference to swan – the zero gravity indicator "Joy" - Shukla said the bird was the vehicle of goddess Saraswati symbolising wisdom, learning and purity.

10. According to news agency PTI, the ISRO is spending ₹550 crore on the Axiom-4 mission.