Axium-4 Mission Will Be Launched On 25th June
- By Thetripurapost Desk, New Delhi
- Jun 24, 2025
- 467
The new launch date of Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's space mission Axiom-4 has been revealed. Now this mission will depart for space on June 25 at 12.01 pm Indian time. Its docking will take place on June 26 at 4:30 pm. This was confirmed by NASA on Tuesday.
After launching on a Falcon 9 rocket, the crew will be sent to the International Space Station on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. In Axium Mission 4 (Ax-4), four astronauts from four countries are going to the space station for 14 days.
Shubhanshu will be the first Indian to go to the ISS and the second Indian to go into space. Before this, Rakesh Sharma had traveled to space in 1984 on a Soviet Union spacecraft.
The Axium-4 mission is led by Commander Peggy Whitson, with Shukla as the mission pilot. Tibor Kapu of Hungary and Slawoj Uznański-Wisniewski of Poland are mission experts.
The mission was postponed 6 times in a month:
Launches were also scheduled for May 29, June 8, June 10, June 11, June 12 and June 22, but were postponed indefinitely to review and conduct safety checks of recent repair work on the rear part of the ISS's Zvezda service module.
In Axium-4, four astronauts from four countries are going to the space station for 14 days. Shubhanshu will be the first to go to the ISS and the second Indian to go to space. Earlier, Rakesh Sharma had traveled to space in 1984 in a Soviet Union spacecraft.
For the first time, research will be done on insulin and blood sugar in space:
The Axium-4 mission has brought a ray of hope for diabetes patients to travel to space. This is because UAE healthcare provider Burjeel Holdings is conducting a research on the behavior of glucose in microgravity.
As part of the Suit Ride Experiment under the Axium-4 mission, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and others will wear continuous glucose monitors for 14 days aboard the orbital lab.
Mohammed Fityan, CMO of Abu Dhabi-based Burjeel Holdings, told PTI that they are just trying to see if there is any change or fluctuation in blood sugar levels while being in space.
Studying the behavior of glucose and insulin in microgravity will help scientists develop wearable technology for astronauts and patients who are bedridden or have limited movement due to diseases such as paralysis.
Apart from this, the astronauts will also carry insulin pens with them, which will be kept in different temperatures, so that it can be observed what effect microgravity has on insulin molecules.
No sugar patient has gone on a space trip yet:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) does not allow insulin-taking diabetics to go into space. Although there is no official ban on diabetics who do not take insulin, no diabetic astronaut has yet traveled to space.
Apart from this, 60 experiments are to be conducted during Axium Mission-4, out of which 7 have been developed by Indian scientists. This includes research projects like germination of sprouts in microgravity, research on crop seeds, microgravity on algae and effect of radiation.