Indian journey to the International Space Station

Shubhanshu Shukla – Axiom 4 pilot

Axiom-4, it’s the latest mission for the International Space Station (ISS). But the big news is that an Indian Astronaut and pilot has been chosen for the mission. His name is Shubhanshu Shukla who is a group captain in the Indian Airforce. Shubhanshu Shukla was selected as the Axiom- 4 pilot because of his skill and he was trained for more than a year for this much-awaited mission. More on the mission, it was known as the Axiom-4 because it was the fourth mission held by Axiom Space company to the International Space Station (ISS). There were four countries who were part of this mission i.e Hungary, Poland, India and the United States. Group captain Shubhanshu Shukla was serving as the mission pilot aboard the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft “Grace”; his participation gives India priceless operational experience that directly helps the country’s Gaganyaan mission scheduled for 2027. Shubhanshu Shukla is also chosen for the Gaganyaan mission because he has now experienced space. The names of the crew members are Peggy Witson, Tibor Kapu, Slawoz Uzniski – Wizniski and finally Shubhanshu Shukla. The Dragon Spacecraft was launched on June 25, 2025 with collaboration of NASA, Axiom space, SpaceX and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The actual launch date was on June 19, 2025 but due to some technical difficulties it was postponed, it was fixed later on by ISRO and Axiom. When the spacecraft launched it took them 28 hours to dock to the ISS.

On the board Axiom crew members were welcomed by the ISS crew members. Till that day 632 members had visited ISS, and with these new visitors the count had gone up to 638. Group Captain Sudhanshu Shukla was the 634^th visitor to the ISS. During this mission all the Axiom-4 crew members completed about 60 advanced scientific experiments which were designated to them respectively by their organisations. These scientific experiments were based across the field of biology, material Science, Human health, and artificial Intelligence.

Group Captain Sudhanshu Shukla who was representing ISRO, India was assigned different experiments to be performed while in space, which were:

Sprouts project:

Which was focused on seed germination in microgravity, aiming to unlock suitable space agriculture solutions. For this assignment Astronaut Sudhanshu Shukla carried Moong dal and methi seeds with him to the space station.

Microalgae research:

Which was to investigate the use of microalgae for producing oxygen, food, and biofuel, essential for long-term crewed missions.

Health monitoring Tools:

Which was based to conduct trials using glucose monitors in zero gravity, critical for enabling astronauts with medical conditions to safely travel in space.

Cognitive load and stem cell research:

Which was based to explore how microgravity affects mental performance and healing, potentially improving astronaut recovery protocols.

All above-mentioned experiments were designed by ISRO, India, which will be playing a vital role providing data for the upcomingGaganyaan human spaceflight mission scheduled by India in 2027. Shukla also photographed six varieties of crop seeds that will undergo post-mission genetic analysis, which will make research into space-based food systems stronger.

From ISS, group captain Shubhansu Shukla did live meetings via ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) with university students, ISRO scientists and most important he even had meeting with honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, He insighted about his visit to ISS, and experiences in microgravity. He shared about how it feels to be in space, and what was his daily life up there. He also shared how he shared Indian food, the moong dal halwa and aamras, with his crew members, which he carried with him to ISS from India. Upon being asked by the prime minister, “How does Bharat look from Space?”, Shukla answered “Earth has no boundaries as we look from space, India appears truly grand—majestic in scale and spirit.” His family members became the first in India to receive calls from Space.

Shubhanshu Shukla and other Axion-4 crew members stayed 18 days in ISS. They undocked from the ISS on July 14, 2025 at 4:45 pm IST. The crew began their return aboard the Dragon spacecraft; their capsule was named “GRACE” by the Axiom-4 crew members. They returned safely back on earth on July 15, 2025. Grace (Dragon spacecraft) carrying Axiom-4 mission crew members splashed down in the Pacific Ocean down near San Diego in the early morning hours and at around 3:01 pm IST.

Even in India every fellow countryman was worried about his safe return back on earth. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, has become a new inspiration, for the young minds like me to trace down the new horizons, proving that sky has no limits to make your dreams come true. We all watched live streaming of the splash of GRACE and received back all four Axiom-4 crew members safely. Later he met his wife and son. Currently he is undergoing rehabilitation training in the US, to adapt to the earth after staying 20 days under the impact of microgravity in space.

This is the story of an Indian in space after 41 years and first Indian in ISS. This is a great achievement of ISRO and its scientists. And of course, now we are getting ready for our own Human Spaceflight Gaganyaan mission which is set in 2027.

Jai Hind!

Author: Saiaansh Dey

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This article is published by Bookosmia, India’s #1 publisher for and by young people. Bookosmia publishes stories, books, podcasts, events, TED-Ed talks, workshops, bedtime stories and more related to kids and young adults.

Photo Credit – Images by Saiaansh Dey

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