India is returning to Space, be excited!
Axiom-4 mission deserves a lot more attention from the Indian Space Community for two reasons: Science and Inspiration.
India is returning to Space: The Second Indian Astronaut after Rakesh Sharma, Shubhanshu Shukla, is flying onboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule. He is piloting the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, currently scheduled for June 11th, 2025, marks an important milestone in India’s space history. However, there is a controversial sentiment within the space community because ISRO/India paid for a seat on this mission. This has resulted in limited coverage by the Indian media. I, on the other hand, believe an Indian in space deserves a lot more attention. So, as a self-proclaimed aerospace nerd, I am going to share my thoughts and some highlights on the Ax-4 mission.
Mission Details
Axiom Space has taglined the mission: “realize the return”, as three of the four crew members are realizing the return to space for their respective countries. Ax-4 mission will be the second human space mission for each of India, Poland, and Hungary, while also being their first mission to the International Space Station.
India’s last human spaceflight happened back in 1984 in a collaboration with Roscosmos onboard Soyuz T-11.
The mission is stated to launch on June 11th with upto 14 days stay at ISS. Pilot Shubanshu Shukla will be performing many experiments on behalf of ISRO as well as part of the ISRO-NASA collaboration to increase our understanding of life and humans in space.
Along with Shubanshu Shukla, Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair is another Indian astronaut who has trained as a backup crew member. Both of them would bring a wealth of experience for India’s Gaganyaan programme with its first stated flight in 2027. The Indian Astronaut Cadre was trained in Russia under an agreement with Roscosmos. Now, with this mission, Shubanshu Shukla and Prasanth Nair are receiving training from NASA and SpaceX. Such collaborations to start our Human Space Programme remind me of ISRO’s early days, where we got assistance from the USA, France, and Russia.
Why is it Important?
While the Space Community acknowledges the experiments and the experience gained, the lack of engineering is one of the reasons for the muted engagement on the mission. For a space programme that has only recently started venturing beyond low-earth orbit, everyone is more excited by the ‘firsts’ and new technologies.
The community is forgetting why we are exploring all these new avenues: SCIENCE!
In India, everyone talks about new technologies and building industries, which can be seen through programmes like ‘MADE IN INDIA’ and ‘STARTUP INDIA’. Science, research, and development get overlooked too often. While Ax-4 may be the second Indian space mission, it is our first micro-gravity experiments mission. The science itself would have long-term ripples in the scientific community. While I haven’t researched the experiments and their implications to share them in detail, I can safely say that any science has the potential to trigger scientific discoveries. Just look at a small experiment onboard Chandrayaan-1 that triggered the current Lunar age as we know it by discovering traces of water.
Along with science, another equally important aspect of the Axiom-4 mission is INSPIRATION!
Rakesh Sharma inspired my Dad and his generation, including Shubhanshu Shukla. Kalpana Chawla, even when she wasn’t an Indian citizen, while she ventured into space, inspired me and my generation. Now, Shubhanshu Shukla will be the face of Indian Space for kids and students. Seeing a person who looks and talks like them in space would enable so many to start dreaming of the stars. Forget all the experience and science, just this fact is enough of a reason to cover this mission in detail. I will try my best to do so because I strongly believe that the Human Space Programme’s most significant implication is towards galvanizing hundreds of young minds, which is the need of the hour for our fast-growing space industry.
All the very best to Shubhanshu Shukla and the Axiom 4 crew for their mission.
Ad Astra!
EDIT: The mission has been delayed after a leak was found during the pre-launch check-up.