Axiom-4 mission : Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s stay in ISS extended, NASA says crew to undock on July 14
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla enjoying a meal with fellow astronauts at the ISS
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla who is part of the Axiom-4 (Ax-04) mission at the International Space Station (ISS) along with his three crew members are expected to undock from the orbiting laboratory on July 14, 2025.
“Of course we are watching the station programme and watching the Axiom-4 mission carefully. Obviously we need to undock that mission, the targeted time to undock the mission is July 14,” said Steve Stich, manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program.
Group Captain Shukla’s Ax-4 to the ISS was launched on June 25, 2025, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Group Captain Shukla is the pilot of the Ax-4 mission and his other crew members are Commander Peggy Whitson of the U.S., Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The crew docked with the ISS on June 26, 2025.
The Axiom Mission 4 crew was to spend up to 14 days at the ISS, however they will be extending their stay at the ISS.
During the stay at the ISS the Ax-4 research complement included around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including the U.S., India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE, and nations across Europe.
Besides, ISRO had also shortlisted seven microgravity research experiments proposed by Indian (PIs) from various national R&D laboratories and academic institutions which Group Captain Shukla conducted during his 14-day stay at the ISS.
ISRO and NASA was also to participate in in five joint science investigations and two in-orbit STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) demonstrations. Group Captain Shukla, is the first Indian astronaut to go to the ISS , and has become the first Indian to reach space in the last 40 years.
Published – July 10, 2025 11:08 pm IST
