Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s voyage to the International Space Station (ISS) as a part of the Axiom-4 mission has carved a new chapter for India’s space missions and larger developmental goals.
The research activities undertaken by Shukla will provide a boost to India’s flagship space projects, including Gaganyan, Chandrayan-4, and Chandrayan-5. Astronaut Shukla’s firsthand experience onboard Axiom-4 will provide empirical knowledge on various aspects of Gaganyan, such as pre-launch quarantine procedures, medical and psychological precautions vital for the crew, spacecraft ingress and egress procedures, etc.
The series of experiments conducted during Shukla’s time in the ISS will also give leverage for India’s economic and developmental ambitions in the long run. To elaborate on this, out of the 60 different scientific studies conducted by the Axiom-4 mission, 7 are championed by the ISRO that are crucial for India’s developmental needs. This includes—
• How to cultivate crops in microgravity/zero gravity and analyze the prospects to develop India-specific food systems in microgravity.
• Human Physiology studies to understand how the human body and various organs react and respond in micro-gravity, and accordingly, therapies and treatments can be developed to boost the health of astronauts.
• Research to understand and boost the mental health of the astronauts while on space, ensuring their stress management capabilities, etc.
• Developing the crucial life-support systems to survive and sustain in the micro-gravity environment.
For example, on July 5th, astronaut Shukla was involved in studying how human bones react to micro-gravity conditions.
He also participated in an experiment that was intended to understand the impact of radiation exposure while inhabiting in the International Space Station (ISS) and was also part of the stem cell research where they seeked to explore the possibility of growth, repair, and recovery of human cells in micro-gravity conditions by supplementing the stem cells. These experiments are pivotal to protecting and nourishing the health of the astronauts.
In another interesting research, the ‘sprouts experiment’ was conducted in order to understand how micro-gravity influences germination and plant development. Astronaut Shukla is seen taking photos of sprouted ‘moong’ and ‘methi’ and he inserted them in a storage freezer. On returning to Earth, these saplings will be cultivated to examine their genetic changes, nutritional profile, etc., which helps to develop sustainable farming practices and ensure food security in space during long-duration space missions that last several months.
Astronaut Shukla also wedged and stored microalgae in the zero-gravity environment in order to analyse their ability to produce oxygen and biofuels, which helps to chart measures and precautions for long-term human space missions. They not only help future space missions but also reflect the strength and stellar capabilities of the nation to champion in the domain of cutting-edge space technologies that helps India to be a forerunner among the very few elite countries in the space sector.
Shubhanshu Shukla and other crew members of the Axion-4 mission are set to return to Earth any day after July 10th, based on the weather conditions off the coast of Florida, completing their 14-day stay in the International Space Station (ISS). Astronaut Shukla will fly down to India with extremely valuable research data and empirical learning.
These strategic scientific experiments will aid in the growth and prosperity of the Indian space industry. It will help benchmark India’s capabilities in the global space market, which in turn attracts foreign investments, international collaborations in the space sector and thereby nurtures employment opportunities for the youth of the nation in the domain of space and other allied industries (MSMEs, R&D, etc.). Shubhanshu Shukla’s venture to ISS on a commercial spacecraft, thus, is a strategic pathway for the nation’s economic and developmental goals in the long run.
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