Axiom's Shubhanshu Shukla joins elite astronaut club today: From roaring MiGs, Su-30s to floating in microgravity

In a major milestone for India's tryst with space, Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla blasted off to space on Elon Musk-led SpaceX aircraft 'Grace' on June 25, Wednesday.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a distinguished pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF), was handpicked as one of the four astronauts for the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) historic Gaganyaan mission—the nation’s inaugural human space flight endeavor.

The Ax-4 mission will "realize the return" to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation's first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station.

For Group Captain Shukla this will be an opportunity to emulate fellow Indian Air Force Officer Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma who flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984 as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme. Sharma spent seven days in space on board the Salyut 7 space station.

'From IAF to space'
Shukla's IAF journey began when he was commissioned into the IAF fighter wing in June 2006. As a combat leader and seasoned test pilot, he boasts an impressive 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32. His ascent to the rank of group captain in March 2024 reflects his exceptional contributions.

In 2019, Shukla received a momentous call from ISRO. He embarked on rigorous training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Moscow, Russia—a year-long preparation that would shape his destiny. On February 27, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled Shukla as one of the elite astronauts undergoing intensive training for India’s maiden human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, scheduled for launch in 2025.

What will Shukla do in space?
The Ax-4 astronauts will perform around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries during their 14-day stay at the ISS. Shukla is set to conduct exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments developed under a collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with support from NASA.

The experiments aim to pioneer space nutrition and self-sustaining life support systems vital for future long-duration space travel. ISRO has lined up a set of seven experiments for Shukla, who will also participate in five joint studies planned by NASA for its human research program. It has drawn up plans to focus on India-centric food for carrying out experiments on the ISS, including sprouting methi (Fenugreek) and moong (green gram) in microgravity conditions.

Shukla will also expose the seeds to the macrobiotic conditions and bring them back to earth where they will be cultivated in plants not just once but over generations.

Shukla said he planned to take certain items from different parts of the country with him to the ISS during the 14-day mission and even expressed hope to serve Indian food to astronauts in the orbital laboratory. He said the experience on the Axiom Mission 4 would be very well utilised on the Gaganyaan mission which is planned for 2027. ISRO is spending Rs 550 crore on the Axiom-4 mission.