Overview

• Shukla will be the first Indian astronaut on the International Space Station since Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission
• The Axiom-4 flight represents a partnership of NASA, ISRO, Axiom Space and SpaceX with India investing ₹550 crore
• Shukla and his crew have begun pre-launch quarantine at Kennedy Space Center as final preparations continue
• The mission’s science program comprises more than 60 microgravity and life-science experiments for global research teams
• A seasoned test pilot with over 2,000 flying hours, Shukla trained at Russia’s Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in 2019