Shubhanshu Shukla, Ax-4 crew's 22-hr journey: When and where they land, what they bring

Hindustan Times

4 days ago

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft left the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday evening, around 4.50pm IST, and is scheduled to land at sea off the coast near California, US, after a 22.5-hour journey, around 3 pm on Tuesday, July 15. Astronaut-Indian Air Force test pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla during his stay at International Space Station(Photo: Axiom Space)
How the Dragon spacecraft will land
Piloted by India's Shubhanshu Shukla, the Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, undocked from the ISS after an 18-day stay, and the spacecraft — dubbed 'Grace' — will make a splashdown landing in the Pacific Ocean, NASA said.
Helicopters will then ferry them out, much like the landing that Indian-origin US astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore made recently after a nine-month mission on the ISS. Their SpaceX capsule, named 'Freedom', splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
What it means for India: Towards Gaganyaan
"Thank you very much for your support. You guys are amazing," Commander Peggy Whitson, an Axiom employee and former NASA astronaut, told flight controllers in Houston. Also aboard mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
For the non-American trio, including Shukla from India, this mission was a return to crewed spaceflight for their nations after decades of absence from the manned-flight scene.
For India, the flight is a stepping stone towards its first independent crewed mission scheduled for 2027 under its Gaganyaan plan. It was a national event when Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Captain Shukla over video call on June 28.
Union minister Jitendra Singh wrote on X about how excited India is. 'Welcome back Shubhanshu! The entire nation eagerly awaits your arrival back home,' he wrote.
What Ax-4 crew experimented on
During the mission — launched from the Kennedy Space Center on June 25 — the crew conducted around 60 scientific experiments on medicine, agriculture, and, of course, space exploration.
NASA said the Dragon spacecraft will return to Earth with more than 580 pounds (around 260 kg) of cargo, including NASA hardware and data from the experiments.
Captain Shukla's work centered on the skeletal and muscle degradation in space. He also carried out an experiment of growing microalgae as a sustainable source of nutrition in long-duration space travels.
He showcased a zero-gravity experiment with water to illustrate how microgravity transforms everyday physics. Using surface tension to his advantage, Shukla formed a floating water bubble. "I've become a water bender here in the station," he joked.
Others worked on cancer, microgreens and plant biology, and how the human body, particularly blood circulation, behaves under microgravity conditions.
The crew took part in a mental health study for astronauts as well.
'Set a new standard'
Ahead of the departure, at a farewell ceremony, ISS Commander Takuya Onishi addressed the crew: 'Peggy, Shux, Suave, Tibor, we really enjoyed your company and thank you so much for bringing so much joy, excitement, inspiration and other positive ways to make our experience here even better.'
'Your dedication to science and your profession definitely set a new standard for private astronaut missions,' Onishi said.
Group Captain Shukla also delivered a farewell speech, quoting the iconic words of Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space, saying, "Aaj ka Bharat abhi bhi saare jahaan se acha dikhta hai" (Today's India is still more splendid than the entire world)."
Which company took them there?
The short mission was financed by the governments privately and was the first time in more than 40 years that India, Poland and Hungary saw a manned mission of theirs go into space. These three were accompanied by America's most experienced space flier, Peggy Whitson, who works for Axiom Space, which chartered the flight.
The Houston-based company's clientele includes the wealthy as well as countries seeking representation in space. NASA is all for commercial spaceflights. It was Axiom's fourth station trip since 2022.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI, AFP)