Shubhanshu Shukla to Make History as First Indian Pilot of Axiom-4, Plans Yoga in Space
Shubhanshu Shukla becomes the first Indian astronaut to pilot Axiom-4, plans to perform yoga in space while advancing India's human spaceflight mission.
Shubhanshu Shukla to Become First Indian Astronaut to Pilot Axiom-4, Plans to Perform Yoga in Space and Contribute to India’s Future Space Missions
On Friday, India will witness another first in space travel. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is scheduled to command Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, to the International Space Station. For the first time, an Indian astronaut is going to be commanding a private space mission. The spring of 2025 is scheduled to see the launching of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This NASA- ISRO-Axiom Space mission partnership brands India as one of the next indigenous players in human space flight.
Axiom Mission 4 and Pilot Role by Shukla
NASA announced its crew for Ax-4 lately and has also confirmed that this mission is led by a former NASA astronaut and Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight Peggy Whitson. Shubhanshu Shukla is to be the pilot of this mission. Polish Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski along with Hungarian Tibor Kapu will be onboard as the respective mission specialists, and it marks the first such time when crew members from the two nations-the Polish and Hungarians-would spend some considerable time on-board the ISS.
Once docked, the private astronauts are expected to spend up to 14 days aboard the ISS. They will be conducting scientific research, performing commercial activities, and outreach programs as part of the effort to further human space exploration. According to Dana Weigel, manager of the International Space Station Program at NASA, missions like Ax-4, with private astronauts, pave the way for the future of low-Earth orbit missions.
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Love of microgravity and space yoga, Shukla.
Speaking to an Axiom-4 webinar, Shubhanshu Shukla said that he is quite excited for this new mission. According to him, he was “really looking forward to experiencing microgravity for the first time” on Ax-4. An interesting piece of information: he plans on doing yoga on the ISS – a first time activity. There are certain specific challenges when yoga is done in space because it’s weightless, but according to Shukla, “it is definitely going to help us to get to the best postures because the Indian style of yoga teaches us how to use gravity”.
The articles that characterize Indian cultural diversification shall go with Shukla to the cosmos. This, ISRO would be signing up with a partner Indian University so that a galaxy of products about India and by Indians reach on the worldwide scene.
From Air Force to Astronaut– Journey of Shubhanshu Shukla
Shubhanshu Shukla was born on October 10, 1985, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. He is a fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force. Shubhanshu Shukla was commissioned to the Indian Air Force in the year 2006 as part of its fighter wing. He has more than 2,000 hours of flying experience in the aircraft types that include Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32. Due to his vast experience as a combat leader and test pilot, Shubhanshu Shukla was promoted to the position of Group Captain in March 2024.
In 2019, he received a call from ISRO and went through the rigorous astronaut training process at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Star City, Moscow. That was after a year of such training culminated in the selection for this Gaganyaan programme of India. The Gaganyaan mission is expected to be in 2025.
Shukla’s experience on Ax-4 is an invaluable stepping stone for the maiden human spaceflight program for India, Gaganyaan. The experience that he would be gaining while being a payload specialist aboard ISS and living and working in space would be invaluable for ISRO as it sets out long-duration human missions in the near future.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially announced Shubhanshu Shukla as one of India’s Gaganyaan astronauts on February 27, 2024. This participation in Ax-4 further cements India’s position in the global space community and marks the nation’s commitment to human spaceflight.
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A Historic Mission for India and the World
For India, this would be not just a personal achievement but rather pride. The country is part of an elite list as it is the pilot of Axiom Mission 4, actively involved in private astronaut missions. This signifies India’s dedication and its pioneering attempt to practice yoga in space, symbolizing science blended with tradition and innovation in the former.
As the countdown to Ax-4 starts, the entire globe awaits eagerly as to when Shukla would embark upon that one of its kind journey inspiring generations and catapulting India at the helm in cosmos.
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