2 days Ago
Details of mission and international cooperation
The crew of Ax-4 consists of commander Peggy Whitson, a US Astronaut with four spaceflights; Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland; and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu.
The other crew members, like Shukla, are returning their nations to space more than four decades after they last went there. It is a collaboration between NASA, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the European Space Agency (ESA), and Axiom Space.
The launch will be upon SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 08:22 EDT (17:52 IST). The astronauts have been in quarantine since 25 May and are prepared for their two-week stay on the ISS. Group Captain Shukla will be the pilot of the mission, he will be the second in command and also will assist in launch and re-entry of the capsule as well as the docking operations. At a press conference, the crew unveiled a toy swan named Joy as their unofficial fifth member.
Life and Legacy of Shukla: A Tribute to the Marxist of the Masses
Early life Shukla was born on 10 October 1985 in Lucknow to an india father and a uk mother Aviator Career Shukla here is his wiki page Joined the Indian Air Force in 2006, as an air warrior, Shukla has flown many aircraft in more than 2000 hours which include MiGs, Sukhois, Dorniers and even the Hawks and the Jaguars. Chosen from four Indian Air Force officers, last year, for India’s first manned space mission for 2027 in India’s ambitious Gaganyaan mission, Shukla’s Ax-4 mission will be an important experience for Indian future space missions.
ISRO is investing ₹5 billion (approximately $59 million) on Shukla’s travel and training.
Officials say his stay on the ISS will considerably enhance India’s space research and cooperation with other countries.
Objectives and Prospects
Onboard the ISS, the crew will work on 60 scientific experiments, seven of them emanating from India. These experiments all center on how crop seeds behave in microgravity, growing microalgae for space use, studying the mammalian tardigrade’s resilience, analyzing muscle loss and how computer screen use affects astronaut cognition in space.
During the mission, Shukla will also interact with Indian students, to motivate the young minds of the nation towards science and space technology.
India’s Gaganyaan mission aims to place three cosmonauts into a 400 km orbit for 3 days by 2027. Future plans for Japan are to construct a space station by 2035 and to send an astronaut to the moon by 2040.
