Astronaut Shubhanshu “Shaks” Shukla, who is on the International Space Station (ISS) under Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), has completed a week in space. On Wednesday, he spent the day off, in which he talked to his family on Earth and prepared himself for the research work starting the next day. This information was shared by Axiom Space in its blog.
The Ax-4 crew includes commander Peggy Whitson, pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and mission specialists Slavosz Ujnanski-Wishniewski and Tibor Kapu. After docking at the ISS on June 26, the team has so far orbited the Earth about 113 times and covered a distance of more than 2.9 million miles, which is about 12 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
On Wednesday, all the members spent time resting and from Thursday they again got involved in research and technical experiments. In the seven days so far, the mission team has done remarkable work in the field of science.
Commander Peggy Whitson is studying the behavior of tumor cells in microgravity, leading to progress towards new cancer treatments. Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla is studying the growth and gene behavior of algae in space, as well as the life capabilities of microorganisms called tardigrades, which could prove helpful in medical and biological research on Earth.
Mission Specialist Slavosz Ujnanski-Wishniewski is testing a wearable device that will improve sound level monitoring on the space station. At the same time, Tibor Kapu is using a Hungarian dosimeter measuring radiation levels and is leading a project to grow microgreens in space, which is important for food security in space in the future.
This mission is historic as it is the first time that astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary have been part of an ISS mission together. This marks the return of these countries to human space flight after 40 years.
A total of more than 60 scientific experiments are being conducted during the Ax-4 mission, highlighting the growing role of commercial and global collaboration in space science. This mission has witnessed more than a hundred sunrises and sunsets and inspired a new generation towards science.
Axiom Mission 4 was launched on June 25 at 12 noon Indian time from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center through a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The next day i.e. on June 26 at 4:05 pm IST, the Dragon spacecraft successfully docked with the Harmony module of the ISS ahead of schedule.
