What Does SpaceX Axiom-4 Mission mean for ISRO, India’s space programme? Shubhanshu Shukla will...

Shubhansu Shukla was not even born when Rakesh Sharma of the Indian Air Force became the first Indian astronaut to travel to space in 1984. After a gap of 41 years, an Indian has reached space. Riding on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that was put on rocket Falcon-9, Shukla has reached space. He will stay at the International Space Station (ISS) and carry out several experiments as a part of the Axiom-4 Mission. It is important not only for him, it is also very significant to the Indian Space Research Organisation. 

What will astronaut Shbhanshu Shukla do in space?

Shukla will go to the mission, which is being undertaken jointly by Axiom Space Inc., the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission will be launched aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket, from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, the US. 

Significance of Axiom-4 Mission

The ISRO has paid a substantial amount of Rs 550 crore to Axiom Space Inc. to purchase a seat on its mission. Shukla will go to space, stay at the ISS for 14 days and carry out several experiments. The mission is significant for the ISRO as it will offer an opportunity to study various aspects of a manned mission. It will help the ISRO gain expertise that can be used for its first indigenous manned mission- Gaganyan. India is most likely to launch a manned- mission from its Sriharikota range in 2027. 

However, the ISRO has no experience or technical know-how for a manned mission. The Axiom-4 mission will be a baby step in this direction. Prime Minister and then US President Joe Biden signed a deal to send an Indian to space. 

Axiom-4 Mission to help ISRO make Gaganyaan's roadmap

The ISRO has made a roadmap for 15 years. It has planned to set up an Indian space station and send an Indian astronaut on a manned mission in a vehicle developed by India using Indian technology. ISRO has launched several space vehicles and set up many satellites in space, but it is yet to send a manned mission. The Axiom-4 mission will provide the ISRO with an opportunity to get the experience of sending a manned mission. 

What will ISRO learn?

The Axiom-4 Mission will help India learn manned flight, flying to the ISS, docking with the space station, return and safe landing. Shukla will also work on science outreach, and communication with the Earth and carry out several scientific experiments, including germination in the zero gravity. Axiom-4 mission will carry out as many as 60 experiments and the Indian astronaut will join many of them. Though India has done many experiments in space in the past, none of them returned to the Earth. This will be the first time that the results of the experiment carried out in space will return to the Earth and the ISRO will study and analyse them.