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New Delhi: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is ready to write history as he gets ready to go on his much anticipated first trip to space on Wednesday, more than a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced him as astronaut-designate for India’s ambitious Gaganyaan Mission.

Along with astronauts from the US, Poland, and Hungary, Shubhanshu Shukla, also known as Shux, will embark on a 14-day research excursion onboard the Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

The mission is a component of Axiom Space, a commercial aerospace business that aims to create a private space station to replace the aging International Space Station and make space affordable and accessible.

Later in the day, at 12:01 pm IST, Shukla, the mission pilot, would launch himself inside SpaceX’s dependable Dragon spacecraft atop the Falcon-9 rocket.

DOCKING LAUNCH

Peggy Whitson, a seasoned American astronaut with many space flights under her belt, is leading the mission, which has been plagued by several delays, technical difficulties, and weather conditions. In addition to overseeing the scientific mission and making sure the July launch, docking, and splashdown go well, she will be in charge of the flight’s seamless operation.

Falcon 9 will transport the Dragon spacecraft into orbit once it launches from the Kennedy Orbit Center. After then, the spacecraft will spend more than twenty-eight hours traveling in zero gravity in order to meet, align, and finally dock with the space station.

If the launch from Florida goes according to plan, the docking is set for June 26 at 4:30 p.m. IST.

Ahead is big science

Shukla would be in charge of directing seven Indian scientific projects created by scholars and scientists from all throughout the nation during his 14-day mission in zero gravity.

Tushar Phadnis, group head for microgravity platforms and research at ISRO, told India Today Science in a media interview that India’s involvement in the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) will give the country crucial operational experience for its long-term goal of a sustained presence in space as well as its ambitious Gaganyaan human spaceflight program.

Out of the seven investigations, the seed research will look into how microgravity impacts germination, which is directly related to crew nutrition and the creation of Gaganyaan food systems tailored to India.

Additional research will use electronic displays in space to investigate muscle regeneration, cognitive function, and the survival strategies of tardigrades (water bears).

Understanding the psychological and physiological difficulties astronauts encounter on prolonged journeys depends on this research.

In two outreach programs, Shukla is also expected to address students from various Indian institutions and universities and address Prime Minister Modi from space.

“I want to tell the Indian people that this mission is a milestone, and I ask India to pray for the mission’s success,” Shukla stated before the launch. You can even reach the stars.

As India awaits liftoff, Shubhanshu Shukla, a test pilot, combat commander, and now astronaut, is prepared for his most anticipated and difficult space mission as a serving group captain in the Indian Air Force.