As Earth drifted far below, pilot Shubhanshu “Shux” Shukla, aboard the International Space Station, completed his first week in orbit on Wednesday as part of Axiom Mission 4, marking a symbolic return for India to human spaceflight.
The milestone came with a brief pause. The four-member international crew of Ax-4 spent Wednesday off-duty, offering Shukla and his fellow astronauts a rare moment to recharge and speak with family after seven days of relentless scientific activity.
Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 25 June from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, the Dragon spacecraft carrying the Ax-4 team docked with the space station on 26 June at 4.05 pm IST, ahead of schedule. The mission is being operated by Axiom Space, a private company advancing commercial access to low-Earth orbit.
Over the past week, the Ax-4 astronauts have completed approximately 113 orbits around the Earth, traversing more than 2.9 million miles — nearly 12 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
The crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and Mission Specialists Slawosz “Suave” Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. Together, they represent three countries returning to human space missions after a hiatus of over 40 years.
Scientific research aboard the ISS has already begun in earnest. Whitson, a veteran NASA astronaut, is engaged in studies exploring how tumour cells behave in microgravity. The findings could offer novel therapeutic targets for metastatic cancers.
Also read: What Shubhanshu Shukla will eat and do aboard the ISS
Shukla, the first Indian astronaut on the station in decades, is conducting two pioneering experiments. The first investigates the genetic behaviour and growth patterns of algae in space, while the second focuses on tardigrades, microscopic organisms known for their extreme resilience. “Shux” aims to uncover how these creatures adapt and survive in the rigours of space, knowledge that could translate into medical and genetic breakthroughs on Earth.
Meanwhile, Suave is evaluating a wearable acoustic device designed to track noise exposure aboard spacecraft, an innovation that may influence the design of future missions. Tibor has been analysing cosmic radiation levels using a dosimeter developed in Hungary, while also cultivating microgreens — a step towards sustainable food production in orbit.
“Axiom Mission 4 highlights the power of international and commercial collaboration,” Axiom Space noted in its official blog. The mission is scheduled to run for two weeks, with over 60 experiments planned across a spectrum of disciplines, from biotechnology to sustainability.
With more than a hundred sunrises and sunsets already witnessed from orbit, the Ax-4 astronauts are now preparing to resume their tight scientific agenda, continuing their pursuit of knowledge that transcends borders and orbits.
Follow us
