India’s Dream of Sending Its First Astronaut to the ISS Soon to Come True
India’s dream of sending its first astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) is set to come true as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force officer, will fly to the ISS on May 29 at 1:03 PM Eastern Time Zone (10:33 PM IST). This milestone mission, announced by Axiom Space, will be the first private astronaut mission launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
Shukla, who was trained for the space mission in Russia and the US, will be accompanied by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, as well as Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The astronauts are scheduled to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting a mission comprising science, outreach, and commercial activities.
This mission marks a significant step forward in India’s space program, coming four decades after Rakesh Sharma’s iconic spaceflight onboard Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft in April 1984. Private astronaut missions are an important component of NASA’s strategy for enabling a robust and competitive commercial economy in low Earth orbit. They also serve as pathfinders in demonstrating the demand for future commercial space stations.
Isro has shortlisted seven microgravity research experiments proposed by Indian principal investigators from various national R&D labs or academic institutions for implementation on the ISS by the Indian astronaut. These experiments include studying ‘water bears’ to understand how living things adapt to microgravity. According to Isro, the experience will nurture a microgravity research ecosystem back home, leading to the induction of advanced experiments that make up India’s space program.
Space minister Jitendra Singh said Shukla will focus on ‘space technology, space bio-manufacturing, and bio-astronautics’ during his ISS mission. Tushar Phadnis, group head for microgravity platforms and research, said at the virtual press conference organized by Axiom that the experiment aims to study the behavior of India-specific sprouts when they come back from space.
Overall, Axiom-4 has a research complement of around 60 scientific studies, including the seven from India. Lucie Low, chief scientist at Axiom Space, reiterated that this will be the most research and science-related activities conducted on an Axiom Space mission aboard the ISS to date.
Experience from the ISS mission will give momentum to India’s first human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan, and also future manned missions to space. Director of international govt business at Axiom Space, Pearly Pandya, informed the media in Delhi recently that Shukla and his backup, Group Captain Prashanth Nair, are being trained to operate payloads and conduct scientific research in microgravity.
The Ax-4 mission is a significant collaboration between India and the US, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the US last year.
Reference : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/on-may-29-group-captain-shubhanshu-shukla-will-be-first-indian-astronaut-to-fly-to-iss/articleshow/120742705.cms
