Since August 2024 two group captains helped prepare by studying spaceflight at training facilities around the United States, Europe and Japan. Both rocket pilots are getting mission-ready for their commercial Axiom-4 trip which will send Shukla to the International Space Station in May 2025 as the first Indian astronaut to visit there in 41 years.
During Axiom-4 veteran American astronaut Peggy Whitson explains the entire training process as Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight and Mission Commander. The astronaut training program for Axiom Space missions is managed jointly by NASA, SpaceX, JAXA, ESA, and us as NASA.
Space Agency astronauts at ESA concentrated their training on working with space communications systems and emergency protocols inside the Columbus research facility. JAXA personnel at the Tsukuba Space Center focused on managing the Japanese Experiment Module Kibō operations.
Both Indian trainees went through program requirements but Shukla now serves as the main astronaut selection since she finished first. Their training will help India in developing its Gaganyaan project to send people into space while preparing for a permanent orbital station and moon missions.
Key mission details:
Four-person crew will spend two weeks on the ISS conducting scientific experiments
SpaceX Falcon9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule will transport the astronauts
The mission marks the return to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary after 40+ years
