Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla Set for Historic Space Mission with NASA

Shubhanshu Shukla's Upcoming Space Journey

New Delhi: After several delays, NASA has finally confirmed a new launch date for Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's groundbreaking journey to the International Space Station (ISS).

Shukla is now scheduled to embark on his mission on June 25 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

According to NASA's latest announcement on social media platform X, the launch is set for 2:31 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 25, as part of the fourth private astronaut mission, Axiom Mission 4.

The crew will travel to the ISS aboard a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, launched by the Falcon 9 rocket.

Initially planned for May 29, the mission faced multiple rescheduling, first moving to June 8, then June 10, June 11, and most recently June 19.

The latest delay occurred after the launch was set for June 22, due to ongoing evaluations of repair work on the Russian Zvezda service module's aft section on the ISS.

NASA indicated that the targeted docking time is around 7 a.m. on Thursday, June 26, and will provide further details and coverage information soon.

This mission is particularly significant for India, as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will become the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS, following Rakesh Sharma's historic flight in 1984.

Shukla will act as the mission's pilot, working alongside Commander Peggy Whitson from the United States.

The crew also includes Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, both serving as mission specialists. Once on the ISS, Shukla will conduct innovative experiments focused on food and space nutrition.

These experiments, developed through a partnership between ISRO and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with NASA's assistance, aim to improve our understanding of sustainable life-support systems, which are vital for future long-duration space missions.

The research will also investigate the impacts of microgravity and space radiation on edible microalgae, a nutrient-dense food source for upcoming space expeditions.

The study will assess essential growth parameters and analyze transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic changes in various algal species in space compared to their behavior on Earth.