Paper: GS – III, Subject: Science and Technology, Topic: Space Technology, Issue: Axiom’s 4 Mission Launches to Station Aboard Dragon.
Context:
Ten minutes after the Axiom-4 launch, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla stated that the lift-off marked not only the start of his journey to the ISS but also the beginning of India’s human spaceflight programme.
- Shubhanshu Shukla, a distinguished pilot in the IAF, is the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS on a private mission.
- He has been picked as one of the four astronauts for the ISRO’s historic Gaganyaan mission the nation’s inaugural human space flight mission.
Key Takeaways:
What is the Axiom Mission 4?
- Axiom Mission 4 (or Ax-4) is a private spaceflight to the International Space Station.
- The flight was launched in June 2025 and is expected to last about 14 days.
- During this time, the crew will remain aboard the International Space Station, carrying out various scientific and operational tasks.
| Axiom previous Space’s missions: Axiom Mission 1: The world’s first commercially crewed private spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS). Launched in April 2022 for a 17-day stay. Axiom Mission 2: Ax-2 was launched in May 2023, spent 8 days in orbit. Axiom Mission 3: Ax-3 in January 2024, remaining docked for 18 days. |
- It will be operated by Axiom Space and use a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
- It will use a Falcon 9 rocket to place the Crew Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit (LEO).
- Launched from: NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the US.
- Crew: The Indian astronaut will be joined by three other astronauts. (Tibor Kapu (Hungary), Mission Specialist; Shubhanshu Shukla (India), Pilot; Peggy Whitson (U.S.), Commander; and Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland), Mission Specialist.
- The private astronauts would conduct a mission consisting of science, outreach, and commercial activities.
Space experiments by ISRO in Axiom-4 Mission:
- During the 14-day stay at the ISS, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla (ISRO) will conduct seven microgravity research experiments proposed by national R&D laboratories and academic institutions.
- The experiments include- impact of microgravity radiation on Edible Micro-algae, sprouting salad seeds in space and the survival, revival, reproduction and transcriptome of Tardigrades in space etc.
| About International Space Station (ISS): ISS is a modular space station (habitable artificial satellite) and the single largest man-made structure in low Earth orbit (~408 kilometres above Earth’s surface). Launched in: 1998 It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States) Roscosmos (Russia) JAXA (Japan) ESA (Europe) CSA (Canada) It circles the Earth in roughly 92 minutes and completes 15.5 orbits per day, hosting a maximum of seven astronauts. It serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which scientific research is conducted in astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, physics, and other fields.NASA intends to keep operating the ISS until the end of 2030, after which the ISS would crash into Point Nemo over the South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area (SPOUA). |
Utilizing the Achievement:
Conclusion:
Shubhanshu Shukla’s journey to the ISS is not just a personal achievement but a landmark event for India’s space program. The impact of this mission will be felt across technological, strategic, and economic dimensions, shaping the future landscape of India in the global space arena.
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