By Sheetal Kumari | April 22, 2025
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to make history as the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS). He will be part of the prestigious Axiom Mission 4.
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Born on 10 October 1985 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Shukla is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune. He was commissioned into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2006.
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With 2,000 hours of flight experience, Shukla has flown aircraft like Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32. He became a Group Captain in March 2024.
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In 2019, Shukla was selected by ISRO for astronaut training. He underwent rigorous training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia before being chosen for India’s Gaganyaan mission.
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Axiom Mission 4, scheduled for Spring 2025, is a private mission by Axiom Space and NASA. The crew will spend 14 days conducting research on the ISS.
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The crew includes Shubhanshu Shukla (India), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), Tibor Kapu (Hungary), and Peggy Whitson (USA), who will travel aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
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The crew trained at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Germany, where they learned about ISS communication, emergency response, and scientific research inside the Columbus module.
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ISRO and the Department of Biotechnology are working on space biology experiments, which may be conducted on Axiom-4, enhancing India’s contribution to space science.
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Shubhanshu Shukla’s journey to the ISS marks a significant milestone in India’s space exploration, inspiring the next generation of astronauts and scientists.
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