3 days ago
- Science
- New Indian Express
ISRO shares full account of astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 space mission
BENGALURU: As the whole nation celebrates the splashdown of Group Captain and astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on July 15 at 3:02 pm at Pacific Ocean, off California coast as part of the Axiom-4 space mission, India's Gaganyatri has been sent to medical quarantine for seven days for his physical, mental and psychological well-being.
In the meantime, ISRO, which had sent Shukla on the mission and invested Rs 550 crore on it, said that the safety and health of its astronaut was its top most priority. The ISRO team also shared a detailed account of the works Shukla had undertaken during his 21-day long space mission, of which 18 days were spent on the International Space Station.
ISRO stated that Shukla had adapted exceptionally well to the zero-gravity environment in space. Despite the physical and psychological challenges of spaceflight, he maintained optimal health throughout the mission. He also captured and shared a wide array of photographs and videos documenting his life and works during the low Earth orbit mission.
ISRO-led scientific experiments completed
Shukla completed a suite of seven microgravity experiments developed by Indian research institutions under the Human Space Flight Centre's (HSFC) coordination.
These experiments explored muscle regeneration, algal growth, crop viability, microbial survivability, cognitive performance in space, and the behaviour of cyanobacteria - each aimed at enhancing understanding of human spaceflight and microgravity science.
The experiments included- Space Microalgae (developed by ICGEB and BRIC-NIPGR, New Delhi): It assessed the growth and radiation response of edible algae; Myogenesis (developed by BRIC-InStem, Bengaluru): Under this the muscle regeneration with supplement treatment were studied; sprouting of methi and moong seeds in microgravity (developed by UAS & IIT Dharwad); life, resilience and aging pattern of tardigrade (designed by IISc, Bengaluru); cognitive testing with in-flight user interface displays of electronic displays (also designed by IISc, Bengaluru); comparative growth and proteomics of Cyanobacteria in Microgravity (developed by ICGEB, New Delhi); and Impact of microgravity on seed physiology on food crop seeds (developed by IIST and KAU, Thiruvananthapuram).
