Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to interact with students live from the ISS this June and conduct five additional experiments with NASA

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a seasoned Indian Air Force test pilot and astronaut candidate under the Human Spaceflight Programme of India, is getting ready for a landmark position on the upcoming Axiom Mission-4 to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, a joint endeavor between India's ISRO, NASA, and ESA, highlights the growing global cooperation in space exploration.Originally set to launch on May 29, 2025, the Axiom-4 mission now is to launch no sooner than June 8, 2025, according to the latest release by NASA. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla's mission will be another major milestone towards fulfilling India's vision of a long-term human presence in space. As it brings cutting-edge scientific research, international collaboration, and educational engagement together, the Axiom-4 mission not only helps shape the future of space habitation but also asserts India as an emerging global player in the space community.Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission includes various key experiments but besides the scientific missions, another important part of Shukla's mission is its education and outreach goal. As a part of a committed public outreach effort, Shukla will engage with students from all over India through a real-time broadcast in space.This first-of-its-kind learning experience will be enabled by radio communication technology on the ISS so that students can connect and interact with the astronaut themselves in real time. The event is intended to inspire interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in young minds and showcase what is possible with global cooperation in space exploration.One of the key points of Shukla's involvement in the mission is the performance of five shared science experiments with NASA. These experiments form part of an initiative aimed at furthering human research endeavors and enhancing scientific co-operation between the two space institutions.NASA's ISS Programme Manager, Dana Weigel, highlighted the cooperative nature of the mission by saying: "NASA and ISRO will have a joint public downlink event to demonstrate the power of international cooperation and our mutual commitment to opening up space more broadly." Some of the scientific objectives of the mission include one of its most important being to explore sustainable food systems for long-term space missions. Shukla will conduct biological experiments on the germination and growth of green gram (mung beans) and fenugreek seeds in microgravity.These tests are designed to evaluate the viability of cultivating India-specific food crops in space. The information obtained could help develop autonomous life-support systems that will be needed for long-duration deep-space missions, such as hypothetical Mars habitation missions. ISRO Project Director Sudeesh Balan described the extent of the scientific objectives of the mission:"Seven experiments we had announced previously are primarily biological and are the ones suggested by Indian scientists. Apart from those, there will be five experiments in collaboration with NASA." Totaling seven biological experiments designed by Indian scientists, Shukla will conduct them, increasing India's presence in life sciences research in space.Also Read | Who is General Michael Guetlein? US Space Force leader appointed by Donald Trump to head the ‘Golden Dome’ space missile defense system