While Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is primary astronaut, Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair is a backup for the mission

The selected Indian astronauts, part of the Gaganyaan program, arrived in Houston in August along with the Ax-4 crew

As India's ambitious Gaganyaan mission takes another significant step forward, two of the four astronaut-designates has commenced training with Axiom Space for the upcoming Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

This collaboration marks a crucial milestone in India's space exploration efforts and strengthens the growing partnership between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Nasa.

The selected Indian astronauts, part of the Gaganyaan program, arrived in Houston in August along with the Ax-4 crew.

Welcome to Axiom Space, #Ax4. Since the crew’s arrival in Houston in August, they have been hard at work preparing for their mission. One part of training is onboarding, which includes tours of our facilities and meetings with numerous members of #TeamAxiom who are playing aâ€æ pic.twitter.com/hBhbca3cnT — Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) September 8, 2024

While Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is the primary astronaut, Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair is a backup for the mission.

Since then, they have been immersed in an intensive training regimen at Axiom Space's facilities. The training program encompasses a wide range of activities designed to prepare the crew for their mission to the ISS.

A key component of the training is the onboarding process, which includes comprehensive tours of Axiom Space's facilities. These tours provide the astronauts with firsthand knowledge of the advanced technologies and systems they will be working with during their mission.

Additionally, the crew has been engaging in meetings with various members of #TeamAxiom, the dedicated professionals responsible for ensuring the mission's success.

The inclusion of an Indian astronaut in the Ax-4 mission is part of a broader collaboration between India and the United States in space exploration. This joint venture, involving Isro, Nasa, and Axiom Space, aims to send an Indian astronaut to the ISS by the end of 2024.

The mission is expected to launch from Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, utilizing SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule.

This training phase is crucial not only for the Ax-4 mission but also for India's Gaganyaan program. The experience gained by the Indian astronaut will be invaluable for Isro's future human spaceflight missions.

The Gaganyaan project aims to demonstrate India's capability to send humans to low Earth orbit and return them safely to Earth.

As the training progresses, both Axiom Space and ISRO are optimistic about the mission's prospects.

Agencies