ISRO-NASA to conduct outreach activities as part of Axiom-4 mission

Context

NASA will conduct the Flight Readiness Review for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) on June 8, 2025, which will be piloted by Indian astronaut Group Captain Subanshu Shukla. The mission, launching from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is bound for the International Space Station (ISS). This marks India’s first crewed mission to the ISS and involves extensive international collaboration.

What is Ax-4 Mission?

Ax-4 is a crewed space mission to the ISS using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft.
The crew consists of:
Pilot: Group Captain Subanshu Shukla (India)
Commander: Peggy Whitson (USA)
Mission Specialists: S?awosz Uzna?ski-Wi?niewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary).

integration of the Dragon spacecraft with the Falcon 9 rocket is underway.

International Collaboration and Research

NASA and ISRO will jointly conduct five scientific investigations and two outreach programs during Ax-4.
ISRO and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed an agreement for cooperation on astronaut training, mission execution, and microgravity research during the mission.
Indian-led microgravity experiments shortlisted for the ISS include:
Comparative growth and proteomics responses of cyanobacteria on urea and nitrate in microgravity.
Impact of microgravity on growth and yield parameters of food crop seeds.
Additional joint studies on human research and technology demonstration will be conducted by ISRO and ESA.
ISRO is also pursuing collaborations with other space agencies for microgravity research during Ax-4.