Overview

• The four-member Axiom-4 team—commander Peggy Whitson, pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu—docked on June 26 and began a 14-day research stay that has been extended through July 14.
• Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said undocking is targeted for July 14 pending favorable thermal, space weather, and splashdown conditions.
• Since June 27 the crew has completed almost 230 Earth orbits and conducted more than 60 experiments representing 31 countries, marking the most research-intensive private astronaut mission to date.
• Shukla’s contributions include seven Indian-led microgravity studies, notably a plant germination experiment that stores seeds at –80 °C for subsequent multi-generational genetic and nutritional analysis.
• The European Space Agency will oversee crew recovery at its Cologne centre, providing medical monitoring and rehabilitation after splashdown.