On June 25, 2025, Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will launch on his maiden spaceflight as the pilot of the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Crew Dragon will carry him and three astronauts for a 14-day scientific mission involving cutting-edge experiments in biology, space medicine, agriculture, and more.

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• IAF’s Shubhanshu Shukla to pilot Axiom-4 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
• 14-day stay aboard ISS to conduct 60+ scientific experiments
• Shukla to lead 7 India-backed experiments on muscle cells, crops, algae, and microfauna
• ISRO’s myogenesis study to explore muscle regeneration and mitochondrial changes in microgravity
• Microalgae and cyanobacteria tests may help future space food development
• Plant growth studies on moong and methi for sustainable food systems in space
• IISc studies include microfauna survival and astronaut eye-hand coordination in microgravity
• Diabetes study with CGMs aims to enable insulin-dependent astronauts in future
• Seeds flown in space to be grown across generations post-mission for genetic research
• Shukla praised as “tech genius” by Ax-4 team for spacecraft control expertise