The US-based Axiom Space is scheduled to launch Mission-4 (Ax-4). It was dropped twice in the past. Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is all set to take this space journey. He is the first Indian to reach the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, and he is the second Indian to go into Space after Rakesh Sharma. On June 10 at 8:22 a.m. ET (5:52 p.m. IST), the US-based Axiom Space is set to launch its Mission-4 (Ax-4) from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying Shukla and three other people. You can catch the live event here:
In a recent press conference, the Indian Astronaut said that he is confident of success during Mission-4. In March, when he spoke with the News Agency IANS, he 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.
Shubhanshu Shukla will pilot the mission with Commander Peggy Whitson. On this mission, the crew includes mission specialist Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland) and mission specialist Tibor Kapu (Hungary). Once aboard the ISS, IAF Group Captain Shukla will also conduct exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments. In order to advance space nutrition and self-sustaining life support systems, which are essential for upcoming long-duration space travel, the experiments were created in partnership between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with assistance from NASA. With this experiment, he will examine the impact of microgravity and space radiation on edible microalgae. Edible microalgae are a high-potential, nutrient-rich food source. The focus of this experiment will be to study key growth parameters and the changes in transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes of various algal species in space compared to Earth conditions.
Axiom Space, meanwhile, has stated that it is prepared for its fourth trip to the ISS. The Ax-4 crew and SpaceX teams finished a thorough rehearsal for launch day operations before liftoff. “Go #Ax4!”, it said in a post on a social media platform X.
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Additionally, the company has scheduled a backup on June 11 at 8:00 am ET (5:30 pm IST). All of the astronauts on the Ax-4 mission, which is the second commercial spaceflight, are supported by the government and ESA. About 60 scientific studies and research activities will be carried out by the Ax-4 crew, with contributions from 31 countries, including the United States, India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, and other European countries.