Axiom 4 Mission: Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to start research activities aboard ISS
Shubhanshu Shukla is the first Indian to visit space since Rakesh Sharma's eight-day trip in 1984 and the second in 41 years.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) June 29: On board the ISS, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has started doing research at the orbiting lab.
Axiom Space claims that the crew members have seamlessly moved from arrival procedures to practical research and are now totally focused on their work aboard the ISS.
Axiom Space said, “This study aims to uncover the biological pathways behind skeletal muscle degradation in space—a major challenge for astronauts. By identifying these mechanisms, researchers hope to develop targeted therapies that could not only protect space travelers but also aid people suffering from muscle-degenerative diseases on Earth,” in a statement.
According to Axiom Space, Group Captain Shukla is working on the Myogenesis experiment in the Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG).
Group Captain Shukla will be undertaking seven microgravity scientific experiments during his 14-day stay at the ISS. ISRO has shortlisted these proposals made by Indians from a variety of national R&D institutes and academic organisations. The Institute of Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine has suggested myogenesis as one of them.
According to ISRO, the knowledge gathered from the execution of the seven experiments is anticipated to foster a microgravity research ecosystem in India. It will lead to the introduction of sophisticated microgravity experiments across a range of fields in the Indian space program.
Along with the seven experiments, ISRO and NASA will also take part in two in-orbit STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) demonstrations and five collaborative science projects.
The research complement for the Axiom-4 mission comprises around 60 scientific studies and activities that represent 31 countries including the United States, India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and countries throughout Europe.
Shukla was sent to the Space Station on Wednesday onboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. After a 28-hour flight, the spacecraft made a perfect docking operation at the Harmony module of the ISS.
He is joined by mission specialists Sawosz Uznanski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary and mission commander Peggy Whitson of the United States.
Aadrika Tayal
