Every once in a while, a moment comes along in India’s journey that rekindles the hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion people — and this Tuesday could well be one of them. In a historic leap for India’s space exploration program, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to become the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station on June 10th, aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as part of Axiom Mission-4. The launch is scheduled for 5:54 pm IST from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking Shukla’s maiden journey to space, and making him only the second Indian to reach space — nearly four decades after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s iconic flight in 1984. Besides Group Captain Shukla, who serves as the mission pilot, the Axiom-4 crew includes astronauts from Poland and Hungary, both making their country’s first trips to the International Space Station. The mission will be led by veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who commands the Ax-4 team. During their 14-day stay aboard the ISS, the astronauts will conduct around 60 scientific experiments and activities involving 31 countries – making this one of the most internationally collaborative missions of its kind.So once docked, what kind of experiments will be conducted in microgravity? How significant is this mission in the broader context of India’s space ambitions? And how will it help India prepare for its own Gaganyaan mission?
Guests:
1: Dr. Amitabha Ghosh, Mars Scientist, NASA
2: S. Somanath, Former Chairman, ISRO
Anchor: Teena Jha
Producer: Sagheer Ahmad
Guest Coordinator: Deepti Vashisht, Vinod Kumar Singh, Paras Kandpal
