Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla stands on the cusp of history as he prepares to set off on a space odyssey, marking India’s return to space flight 41 years after his idol Rakesh Sharma orbited the earth for eight days as part of Soviet Union's Interkosmos programme.
Lucknow-born Shukla, who goes by the call sign 'Shuks', is part of an ISRO-NASA supported commercial spaceflight by Axiom Space which is expected to lift off for a 14-day sojourn to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday evening. Along with other officers Prasanth Balkrishnan Nair, Angad Pratap, and Ajit Krishnan, Shukla, a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force, was chosen in 2019 to join India's astronaut corps for the Gaganyaan mission, which is anticipated to be launched in 2027.
Shukla was born in Lucknow on October 10, 1985, and attended City Montessori School before enrolling in the National Defence Academy. Since joining the Indian Air Force in 2006, he has flown more than 2,000 hours on a variety of aircraft, such as the Jaguar, Dornier-228, MiG-29, and Su-30 MKI. He holds an MTech in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
Shukla and the three other Gaganyaan astronaut designates underwent extensive training at Russia’s Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre and ISRO’s Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru. Shukla's crewmates on the Axiom-4 mission, commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Tibor Kapu from Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, describe him as "operational-savvy", "focussed" and "wicked smart" when it comes to space technologies.
"This is not just my journey; this is the journey of 1.4 billion Indians. Even if this story can change one life or inspire one young person, it will be a success," Shukla said in a press interaction ahead of the launch. Shukla's travel to space marks India's return to human spaceflight 41 years after Rakesh Sharma scripted history by undertaking a journey to space onboard Soviet Russia's Soyuz spacecraft in 1984.
In Lucknow, Shukla's City Montessori School (CMS) has planned a "public watch party" to celebrate his spaceflight. Several hoardings have come up across the city congratulating 'Shuks' for his spaceflight. CMS has set up giant screens to relay the SpaceX launch live with NASA/Axiom commentary.
Also Read: Shukla set to pilot India’s return to space with Axiom-4 mission
"We are eagerly looking forward to the launch. Shuks is incredibly focused yet brimming with joy'," Suchi Mishra, Shukla's sister, said in Lucknow. During the 14-day stay at the ISS, the Ax-4 crew is expected to interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, school students, and space industry leaders, among others.
Shukla is set to conduct exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments developed under a collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with support from NASA. The experiments aim to pioneer space nutrition and self-sustaining life support systems vital for future long-duration space travel.
ISRO has lined up a set of seven experiments for Shukla, who will also participate in five joint studies planned by NASA for its human research programme. It has drawn up plans to focus on India-centric food for carrying out experiments on the ISS, including sprouting methi (fenugreek) and moong (green gram) in microgravity conditions.
Shukla will also expose the seeds to the macrobiotic conditions and bring them back to earth where they will be cultivated into plants not just once but over generations. Shukla's experience on the Axiom Mission 4 would be very well utilised on the ISRO's Gaganyaan space flight mission which is planned for 2027. ISRO is spending Rs 550 crore on the Axiom-4 mission.
Also Read: Axiom-4 space mission launch delayed by one day due to weather
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