Exploration of space has consistently expanded the limits of scientific investigation, yet seldom has a mission intrigued people as much as the upcoming journey featuring India’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla travelling to the International Space Station. Shukla’s travel as the first Indian astronaut on the Axiom-4 mission set for June 11, 2025, signifies a new era in his country’s space aspirations and global cooperation. What makes this 14-day mission especially captivating, however, isn’t solely the historic aspect of India’s involvement, but the intriguing load of tiny travelers that will join him on this journey. Over 280 individuals representing 23 countries have visited ISS few of which are Italy, France, Russia, USA, Japan, Brazil, Denmark and more. The launch of the Axiom-4 mIssion India will make India join the list of countries to mark this achievement soon!
Among the seven essential microgravity experiments Shukla will perform on the ISS, one features organisms so tiny they cannot be seen without a microscope, yet so tough they’ve been likened to legendary entities, frequently referred to as ‘Water Bears.’ Through the Voyager Tardigrades experiment, Shukla’s mission will explore how these remarkable organisms adapt to the harsh environment of space, potentially unlocking secrets about biological resilience that could prove crucial for humanity’s future among the stars.
Who is Shubhanshu Shukla?
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, born on October 10, 1985, is an Indian Air Force officer and test pilot who is now making history as India’s prime astronaut for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS). Selected as one of ISRO’s four vyomanauts under the Gaganyaan program, Shukla is the first Indian to officially represent the nation in space since Rakesh Sharma in 1984. With over 2,000 flight hours on aircraft like the Su-30MKI, MiG-29, and Jaguar, he is a seasoned aviator who was commissioned into the fighter stream in 2006. After extensive astronaut training in Russia and India, he was chosen to join the international Ax-4 crew led by veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.
Shukla’s mission, scheduled to launch around June 11, 2025, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, marks a major milestone for India’s human spaceflight journey. During his 14-day stay aboard the ISS, he will conduct 60 science investigations, including seven key microgravity experiments developed by Indian researchers, exploring plant growth, muscle regeneration, and tardigrade biology. A native of Lucknow, Shukla is an alumnus of JNU, IISc Bangalore, NDA, and the IAF Academy, known for his quiet determination and disciplined demeanor. His historic journey symbolizes a new era in India’s space exploration ambitions, bridging collaborations with NASA and paving the way for Gaganyaan and future lunar missions.
He will also be conducting experiments on water bears, also known as tardigrades, during his mission. These experiments, part of a larger scientific collaboration, will investigate the resilience of these tiny creatures in microgravity and their potential role in future space missions.
What are water bears?
“Water bears” simply refers to tardigrades, tiny eight-legged micro‑animals famous for their extreme toughness, they can survive freezing, dehydration, radiation, and now even space. For the Axiom‑4 mission, ISRO has included experiments involving tardigrades onboard the ISS to study how microgravity affects their survival, reproduction, and biological functions.
Tardigrades are ideal subjects for space biology because:
- Remarkable resilience: They can enter a dormant “tun” state, enduring extreme environments and bouncing back to full activity—making them perfect for testing survival in space conditions.
- Biological insights: Observing their responses in microgravity can reveal how fundamental life processes—like DNA repair, protein stability, and cell division—operate under low gravity.
- Human spaceflight relevance: These experiments help us understand how living organisms adapt (or don’t) in space, informing strategies to protect astronauts on long-duration missions—like Gaganyaan or future lunar/ Mars expeditions.
About the mission-
The Axiom-4 mission is an international space exploration collaboration between Axiom Space, NASA, SpaceX and ISRO. By focusing on advancing research, this mission aims to conduct scientific experiments on microgravity in order to accelerate the development of commercial spaceflight, while at the same time boosting international participation. It is scheduled to launch no earlier than 11th June 2025, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center the mission will utilise a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to send their Crew Dragon spacecraft C213 on its very first flight to the inner core of the Earth’s orbit.
Key objectives of the mission are-
- Laying the Foundation of Commercial Space Stations: Ax-4 is a part of a broader mission to establish the world’s first commercial spacestation. Marking its transition from solely research based towards commercialisation.
- Improve Space Medicine: notable research has become inclined to support astronauts with insulin-dependent diabetes. They also continue to experiment about muscle regeneration in microgravity and growth of cyanobacteria for sustainable oxygen production for critical and long-duration space missions.
- Fostering International Collaboration: Ax-4 marks a major step in strengthening diplomatic bonds by inculcating multinational crew in the mission. For this particular mission 31 countries have decided to contribute, with the USA, India, Poland and Hungary leading the mission.
- Supporting National Space Programs: With the participation of more than 20 countries, it is natural that such a large-scale project will aid in their space programs as well. In India’s case, this mission will provide a valuable experience for the Gaganyaan mission, which is planned for after 2025.
Crew Composition for this mission, as stated by NASA are as follows:
- Commander: Peggy Whitson (former NASA astronaut, now director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space)
- Pilot: Shubhanshu Shukla (ISRO astronaut, representing India)
- Mission Specialist: Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (ESA project astronaut, Poland)
- Mission Specialist: Tibor Kapu (Hungary)
Ax-4 is a pioneering mission that falls under Axiom Space’s broader plan of developing the first commercial space station transitioning into an independent orbital platform. It marks a historic return to human spaceflight for India, with the nation conducting its first government-sponsored flight in over 40 years. The rigorous scientific research planned to be conducted will not only be inclusive of health and medicine for astronauts but also crop resilience in microgravity, sustainable development of oxygen and Earth observations. With about 60 studies and activities, this mission is the most research-intensive Axiom mission to date. Axiom 4 emphasizes on enhancing microgravity research in Earth’s lower orbit and increasing global knowledge regarding the same.
