In a landmark moment for global space collaboration, the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) successfully launched today at 12:01 PM IST from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission, operated by Axiom Space in partnership with NASA, SpaceX, and international space agencies, carries astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary, and the United States to the International Space Station (ISS).
https://twitter.com/IndiaInSky/status/1937763883206299813
Leading the mission is veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson, joined by Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of ISRO, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. This marks a historic milestone as Shukla becomes the first ISRO astronaut to reach the ISS, fulfilling a long-standing Indo-U.S. space collaboration promise.
The crew will spend two weeks aboard the ISS, conducting over 60 scientific experiments ranging from microgravity biology to mental health research and crop resilience studies.