India’s Star on the Rise: Shubhanshu Shukla Set to Lift Off to ISS on May 29

Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be India's first astronaut to journey to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 29 aboard the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) along with NASA's Peggy Whitson, Poland's Sławosz Uznański, and Hungary's Tibor Kapu. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will launch from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, at 10:33 PM IST, on a 14-day mission for microgravity research.

 

Shukla will carry out seven ISRO-conceived experiments, such as research on mung bean sprouting, the survival of tardigrades, and cognitive ability in space, vital for India's Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission and future plans for a Bharatiya Antariksha Station. The mission seeks to push India's knowledge on crew nutrition, biotechnology, and sustainable life support systems in orbit.

 

The historic flight comes four decades after Rakesh Sharma's 1984 mission.

 

Sources: NDTV, India Today, The Indian Express