ISRO astronaut and Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Shubhanshu Shukla is set to make history as the pilot for Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in Spring 2025.
This will make Shukla the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Shukla is also a selected astronaut for India's Gaganyaan Mission.
Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and Director of Human Spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the mission, with Shukla serving as the pilot. The mission will also feature two mission specialists: Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from the European Space Agency (ESA), Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
NASA's Dana Weigel, manager of the International Space Station Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, expressed excitement about the growing interest in private astronaut missions to the ISS. She emphasized that these missions help pave the way for expanding access to the microgravity environment as NASA looks to the future of low Earth orbit.
The Ax-4 mission will follow the success of previous private astronaut missions. Axiom Mission 1, which launched in April 2022, was the first private mission to the ISS. Axiom Mission 2, which launched in May 2023, and Axiom Mission 3, launched in January 2024, also followed, with Whitson commanding each mission.
Whitson praised the Ax-4 crew for their dedication and teamwork, highlighting the unique strengths each member brings to the mission, making it not just a scientific endeavor but a testament to human ingenuity.
In other space news, NASA has announced that they are working closely with SpaceX to facilitate the return of Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and astronaut Butch Willmore, who have been stuck aboard the ISS for 238 days.
This came after SpaceX founder Elon Musk mentioned that US President Donald Trump had requested the return of both astronauts as soon as possible.
Read also| Stampede at Maha Kumbh, Adityanath Reports Serious Injuries to Some Devotees
Read also| Stampede at Maha Kumbh: 30 Women Injured Ahead of Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya