The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), set to take off from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida next week, will be piloted by an Indian as it soars towards the International Space Station (ISS). Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian air force is among the four-member multi-country crew of Ax-4 that will be spending two weeks on the ISS. The flight, scheduled for 10 June at 08:22 EDT (12:22GMT; 17:52IST), has generated a huge interest in India as Group Captain Shukla will only be the second Indian ever to travel to space and the first to visit the ISS. The trip comes 41 years after cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to fly to space aboard a Russian Soyuz in 1984. He spent nearly eight days there. Ax-4 is led by former Nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson - a space veteran who has been commander of ISS twice, spent hundreds of days in space and done 10 space walks. The team also includes Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary - just like the Indian astronaut, they will also be taking their countries back to space after more than four decades. Experts say the pilot's role is key, as he would serve as second-in-command to the mission commander, assisting with spacecraft operations during launch, docking, undocking and return to Earth. The astronauts, who have been in quarantine since 25 May to prepare for the trip, addressed a press conference on Tuesday night where they showed-off Joy - a small, white toy swan they said would be "the fifth crew member" on Ax-4. "We are good for the launch, we have completed all the training and the team has bonded well," Commander Whitson said. Describing the past year as "nothing short of transformative" for him, Group Captain Shukla said he did not have words to describe his excitement. "It has been an amazing journey so far, but the best is yet to come," he said. "As I go into space, I carry not just instruments and equipment, I carry hopes and dreams of a billion hearts. "I request all Indians to pray for the success of our mission," he added. The 39-year-old was among four Indian air force officers shortlisted last year to travel on the country's first-ever human space flight, scheduled for 2027. The Gaganyaan mission aims to send three astronauts to an orbit of 400km and bring them back after three days. India has also announced ambitious plans to set up a space station by 2035 and send an astronaut to the Moon by 2040. India's space agency Isro has been carrying out a number of tests to prepare for Gaganyaan. In December, it plans to send a female humanoid robot to space as part of the tests. So, officials say the weekend's mission comes as a "unique exciting opportunity" for Isro and has generated a lot of interest in India. The trip to ISS aboard Ax-4 - a commercial flight operated by Houston-based private company Axiom Space - is a collaborative effort between Nasa, Isro and European Space Agency (Esa). Sunday's flight will be launched using the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket. Isro, which has paid 5bn rupees ($59m; £43m) to secure a seat for Group Captain Shukla and his training, says the experience he will gain during his trip to the ISS will help India immensely. "The benefit we will get from this mission is phenomenal in terms of the training, exposure to the facilities and the experience of jointly conducting experiments in space," Isro Chairman V Narayanan recently said. Sudeesh Balan, Isro project director, said Group Captain Shukla had been training since August last year. "He's undergone rigorous training, including physical and psychological assessments, to prepare for the journey." Born on 10 October 1985 in the northern city of Lucknow, Group Captain Shukla joined the Indian air force as a fighter pilot in 2006. According to Axiom Space, he has over 2,000 hours of flying experience and has flown MiGs, Sukhois, Dorniers, Jaguars and Hawks. His sister Shuchi Mishra, however, told the BBC that his entry into the air force was "accidental". "When he was 17 and in high school, his friend got a form to apply to the National Defence Academy. But this friend was slightly overage so he was not qualified. Not wanting to waste the form, Shubhanshu filled it up," Ms Mishra said. "He was selected - and has never looked back." Ms Mishra says their family "is thrilled as one of ours has been chosen out of India's 1.4 billion people" for this mission. "We all feel so privileged and proud that he's a part of our family and that we've been a part of his journey." Her brother, she says, is undertaking this journey for his country - for the next generation. "He always tells people to dream big, to do something for the nation. We are hoping that his trip will inspire the next generation." Besides piloting the mission, the Indian astronaut will have a busy schedule during his time on ISS. Considering the huge interest in the flight, Isro has said they are organising events for him to interact with Indian students and answer their questions while floating in space. "We believe it will motivate our young minds to become passionate about space tech," Mr Balan said. But most of the time, the four-member crew will be conducting 60 scientific experiments, seven of which come from India. Former Nasa scientist Mila Mitra says Isro's experiments will help improve our understanding of space and its effects on biology and micro-gravity. One of the key experiments, she explains, will investigate the impact of spaceflight on six varieties of crop seeds. "This project aims to help understand how crops may be grown in space for future exploration missions. After the mission, seeds will be grown for multiple generations and plants showing preferred traits will be selected for genetic analyses." Another Isro experiment involves growing three strains of microalgae which could be used as food, fuel or even in life support systems and this will help identify the most suitable ones for growing in microgravity, she says. The Isro projects would also investigate how tardigrades - micro-animals on Earth that can survive extreme environments - would fare in space. "The project will examine the revival of dormant tardigrades, count the number of eggs laid and hatched during a mission, and compare space-flown versus ground control populations," Ms Mitra says. The other experiments aim to identify how muscle loss occurs in space and how it can be treated; and the physical and cognitive impact of using computer screens in microgravity. "The research will study how gaze fixation and rapid eye movements are affected by being in space, and how this may affect an astronaut's stress and wellbeing. The results could influence future spacecraft computer design and interaction," she says. — BBC
