India is ready to make history again in space! Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has been chosen to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) in May 2025.
The government has confirmed that he will be part of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), a private space mission approved by NASA and organized by Axiom Space. Shukla will be the second Indian to go to space, after Rakesh Sharma, who flew in 1984.
Minister of State for Space Dr. Jitendra Singh called this mission a major milestone in India’s space journey. Shukla’s mission also supports India’s big dream of sending humans to space under the Gaganyaan programme.
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Shukla will be the pilot of the mission. The team will be led by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut. Two other astronauts, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, will also join the mission.
They will launch from Florida in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and stay on the ISS for up to 14 days. During the trip, they will do scientific experiments and take part in educational outreach.
Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair has been named as the backup for Shukla. This mission shows the growing partnership between ISRO, NASA, and private space companies, and it’s a proud moment for India.
