Axiom-4 Mission: How Shubhanshu Shukla’s Experiments on ISS Will Help India’s Gaganyaan Mission

Indian Air Force officer Shubhanshu Shukla’s historic journey to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 Mission comes at a pivotal moment, as India prepares to launch its first manned spaceflight under the Gaganyaan Mission.

Shukla’s participation in Axiom-4 not only marks a significant milestone in India's space journey but also provides the country with valuable first-hand experience of living and working in space. The 39-year-old IAF test pilot made history by becoming the first Indian to visit the ISS and only the second Indian to travel to space, after Rakesh Sharma.

Organized by Axiom Space in collaboration with NASA, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), ESA (European Space Agency), and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the Axiom-4 mission is a private spaceflight involving astronauts from four different countries. The crew will spend 14 days aboard the ISS conducting more than 60 scientific experiments.

Shukla will personally conduct seven India-specific experiments in biology, medicine, and technology—research that is expected to directly benefit India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission.

Set to launch by 2027, the Gaganyaan mission will make India the fourth country—after Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), the United States, and China—to independently send humans into space.

Shukla’s extensive training in spaceflight operations, microgravity adaptation, launch protocols, and emergency procedures makes his role in the Axiom-4 mission a key asset to India’s human spaceflight program. He is also one of the four astronauts shortlisted for Gaganyaan, making his participation even more critical.

India-Specific Experiments on the Axiom-4 Mission

As part of Axiom-4, Shukla will grow Indian superfoods such as moong and methi in microgravity to study how space affects seed germination and plant growth. The aim is to develop India-specific space food systems and identify space-resilient genes for sustainable food production on long-duration missions to the Moon or Mars.

He will also examine muscle degeneration and cellular aging in space, offering insight into the physiological changes astronauts experience in microgravity. These findings will be essential for maintaining astronaut health during Gaganyaan and future deep-space missions.

Another experiment will assess the impact of screen exposure on mental health and cognitive function in space, helping to design better psychological support systems and onboard environments for astronauts.

Shukla will also study microbes in space and evaluate the feasibility of growing edible algae as a nutritious, sustainable food source. This could significantly enhance life support systems and nutritional strategies for long-duration space travel.

Beyond the scientific research, Shukla’s mission provides India with critical operational insights—from pre-launch quarantine and medical diagnostics to international collaboration, ingress/egress protocols, and astronaut readiness procedures. His hands-on experience will play a crucial role in helping ISRO and its partners prepare for the complexities of manned spaceflight.