How India joined Axiom 4 mission that will send the first Indian astronaut to ISS
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How India joined Axiom 4 mission that will send the first Indian astronaut to ISS
India is poised to send its first astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) with Shubhanshu Shukla. He will spend 14 days aboard the ISS, conducting various experiments that will pave the way for India’s future space endeavors. This historic mission marks India’s second astronaut flight into space, following Rakesh Sharma’s iconic journey in 1984. But how did India become part of this groundbreaking venture? For over a decade, India’s space agency, ISRO, and NASA have collaborated on the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission.
New Delhi:
India is poised to send its first astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) with Shubhanshu Shukla as part of the Axiom 4 mission. Originally scheduled for launch on June 11 at 5:30 PM, the mission faced a delay due to a liquid oxygen leak. Shukla will spend 14 days aboard the ISS, conducting various experiments that will pave the way for India’s future space endeavors, including the Bhartiya Antriksh Station and the Gaganyaan Mission. This historic mission marks India’s second astronaut flight into space, following Rakesh Sharma’s iconic journey in 1984. But how did India become part of this groundbreaking venture?
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For over a decade, India’s space agency, ISRO, and NASA have collaborated on the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission. This partnership has fostered closer ties, with discussions about a potential joint human spaceflight program arising during their interactions. These conversations gained momentum especially after ISRO showcased its capabilities through missions like Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan, as well as the development of advanced space systems.
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This strengthened collaboration was formalised shortly after Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Washington in June 2023 when India signed the Artemis Accords, a set of principles devised by the U.S. for responsible behavior and cooperation in space exploration, primarily focused on lunar and deep-space missions.
The signing of the Accords opened the door for unprecedented collaboration in space-related activities, with the Axiom-4 mission marking the first fruits of this cooperation. Following the signing of the Artemis Accords, Axiom Space, a U.S.-based private space company, extended an invitation to India to join its ISS mission. Axiom Space has been the first and, so far, the only beneficiary of a NASA program aimed at enabling private U.S. industry to conduct commercial crewed missions to low Earth orbits and the ISS. This initiative is part of NASA’s strategy to build capabilities in the private sector while it focuses on scientific exploration and planetary missions.
In 2018, PM Modi announced India’s ambitious plan to send humans into space by 2022. ISRO has been diligently working towards this goal ever since. Although the 2022 deadline has passed, the agency has successfully trained and selected astronauts for the mission, which also helped ISRO accept Axiom invitation.
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