Next week, India marks a significant milestone in its space endeavors as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force prepares to pilot the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS). This journey, scheduled for June 10th at 08:22 EDT, makes Shukla only the second Indian citizen to travel to space and the first to visit the ISS, 41 years after Rakesh Sharma’s pioneering flight.
The four-member Ax-4 crew, led by seasoned NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, also includes Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, all of whom are returning their respective countries to space after long hiatuses. As pilot, Group Captain Shukla will play a crucial role as second-in-command, assisting the mission commander with critical spacecraft operations.
The mission has generated immense excitement in India, especially given Shukla’s upcoming involvement in India’s own Gaganyaan human spaceflight program, scheduled for 2027. His experience on Ax-4, a commercial flight operated by Axiom Space in collaboration with NASA, ISRO, and ESA, is deemed “phenomenal” for India’s burgeoning space ambitions. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has invested $59 million to secure his seat and training, recognizing the invaluable exposure to facilities and joint experiment opportunities.
The astronauts, have been in quarantine since 25 May to prepare for the trip. During their two-week stay on the ISS, the crew will conduct 60 scientific experiments, with seven originating from India. These include critical research on the impact of spaceflight on crop seeds to understand future space agriculture, the suitability of microalgae strains for food and life support in microgravity, and the survival of tardigrades in extreme space environments. Other experiments will investigate muscle loss and the effects of computer screen usage in microgravity, potentially influencing future spacecraft design.
Group Captain Shukla expressed his profound excitement. He said, “As I go into space, I carry not just instruments and equipment, I carry hopes and dreams of a billion hearts. I request all Indians to pray for the success of our mission,” he added.
This mission is a testament to India’s growing prominence in the global space community, with ambitious plans to establish a space station by 2035 and send an astronaut to the Moon by 2040.
If he is unable to fly on Tuesday, fellow airforce pilot Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, 48, is expected to take his place.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
