Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla has created history by becoming the first Indian ever to set foot on the International Space Station (ISS). A live broadcast showed the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission docking with the orbiting laboratory and its four-member crew crossing over to the ISS.
The Dragonspace spacecraft carrying him and 3 other astronauts as part of the Axiom-4 mission, successfully docked with the ISS. The crew boarded the ISS and were greeted by the astronauts present there.
Shubhanshu will spend the next 14 days aboard the orbiting lab researching microgravity. The crew will carry out scientific experiments, technology demonstrations, and educational outreach activities in a microgravity environment.
The other three astronauts of the Axiom-4 mission are American project commander Peggy Whitson, project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and astronaut Tibor Kapu of Hungary, who will stay on the ISS for 14 days. They completed a 28 hour journey after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Crew is scheduled to perform about 60 experiments
As part of the Axiom-4 Mission, the crew is scheduled to perform approximately 60 experiments, with Shukla leading seven of them.
This mission also marks a major collaboration between NASA and ISRO, fulfilling a commitment made by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send the first ISRO-associated astronaut to the space station.
Isro said the hands-on experience he will gain during his trip to the ISS will help India in its human space flights.
Isro has said it wants to launch the country's first-ever human space flight in 2027 and has announced ambitious plans to set up a space station by 2035 and send an astronaut to the Moon by 2040.
A wonderful journey, says Shubhanshu
Earlier, the mission crew held a live conversation with from the spacecraft, during which Shubhanshu said, "Hello from space! I am very excited to be here with my fellow astronauts. It is a wonderful journey."
He said, "When we were launched into the vacuum, I was not feeling very well, I am very sleepy. Learning like a child... how to walk and eat in space." Holding a soft toy swan in his hand, he said, "In Indian culture, the swan is a symbol of wisdom."
Prakash Kumar Pandey