India is set to make its International Space Station debut, with astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla embarking with three others on Axiom Space's fourth human spaceflight from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on June 10.
As the countdown for the ambitious mission begins, Shubanshu Shukla’s crewmates have lauded his technical expertise and unwavering commitment, calling him the “anchor” of the mission.
Tibor Kapu from Hungary, who is also part of AX4 commercial mission, hailed Shukla's mental capabilities and said 'The way he processes knowledge, it seems like he's a 130-year-old man."
Mission commander and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson called Shubhanshu Shukla's 'technical knowledge' an exceptional asset.
"For me, having Shubhanshu as my pilot in the capsule is great. He is operationally savvy, and he is just wicked smart when it comes to spacecraft technology," Whitson said.
{{/usCountry}}"For me, having Shubhanshu as my pilot in the capsule is great. He is operationally savvy, and he is just wicked smart when it comes to spacecraft technology," Whitson said.
{{/usCountry}}Similarly, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, who is also part of the Ax-4 mission, lauded Shukla's ability to grasp things quickly and said he was great at performing under pressure.
Axiom's AX4 space mission
The Axiom-4 mission will mark India's return to space 41 years after Rakesh Sharma's historic spaceflight onboard Russia's Soyuz mission in 1984.
"The crew will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company's Falcon 9 rocket. The targeted docking time is approximately 12:30 p.m.EDT (10:00 p.m. IST), Wednesday, June 11," NASA said in a statement.
Shubhanshu Shukla, the mission pilot of the Axiom-4 (Ax4) commercial mission to the ISS, will be accompanied by mission commander Peggy Whitson and specialists Tibor Kapu from Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland.
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.
Who is Shubhanshu Shukla?
Captain Shukla is part of the first team of Indian astronauts trained for human spaceflight, with Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair serving as his designated backup.
He is the mission pilot of the Axiom-4 (Ax4) commercial mission to the ISS.
Also Read | Here's what Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will do in space
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.
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.