NEW DELHI — Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to undertake the
“journey to inspire an entire generation for space” and become the first Indian
to reach the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday.
After being delayed twice, the US-based Axiom Space is
scheduled to launch its Mission-4 (Ax-4), carrying Shukla, along with three
others from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
on June 10 at 8:22 a.m. ET (5:52 pm IST).
While Shukla will become the first Indian on ISS, he will
be the second to go to space, after Rakesh Sharma flew to space station Salyut
7 in 1984.
During a recent press conference, Shukla stated that “he
is extremely confident of success during Mission-4".
Speaking to IANS in March, Shukla said he hopes to use
his “journey to inspire this entire generation to pursue their careers in the
field of space”, as he “was extremely inspired and motivated”, by Rakesh
Sharma.
Shukla will pilot the mission along with Commander Peggy
Whitson, from the US. Other crew members include mission specialist Sławosz
Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and mission specialist Tibor Kapu (Hungary).
Once aboard the ISS, IAF Group Captain Shukla is expected
to conduct exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments.
The experiments -- developed under a collaboration
between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Department of
Biotechnology (DBT), with support from NASA -- aim to pioneer space nutrition
and self-sustaining life support systems vital for future long-duration space
travel.
The experiment will examine the impact of microgravity
and space radiation on edible microalgae -- a high-potential, nutrient-rich
food source.
The study will focus on key growth parameters and the
changes in transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes of various algal species
in space compared to Earth conditions.
Meanwhile, Axiom Space has also expressed readiness for
its fourth mission to the ISS. Ahead of liftoff, the Ax-4 crew, together with
SpaceX teams, completed a full rehearsal for launch day activities.
“Go #Ax4!”, it said in a post on social media platform X.
The company has also set up a backup opportunity on June
11 at 8:00 a.m. ET (5:30 pm IST).
The Ax-4 mission is the second commercial spaceflight and
is made up entirely of government and ESA-sponsored astronauts.
The Ax-4 crew will conduct approximately 60 scientific
studies and research activities involving contributions from 31 countries,
including the US, India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE,
and several European nations.
