Shukla’s ISS mission boosts Gaganyaan

Bengaluru

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, held a telephonic conversation with ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan on July 6, 2025, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed on Monday.

The discussion primarily focused on Shukla’s health, the progress of the mission, and the ongoing scientific experiments being conducted in orbit. Chairman Narayanan inquired about the nature of these experiments and stressed the need for thorough post-mission documentation. He highlighted that the data gathered during Shukla’s mission would be invaluable for India’s upcoming human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan.

Senior ISRO officials, including VSSC Director S. Unnikrishnan Nair, LPSC Director M. Mohan, IISU Director Padmakumar E.S., ISRO Scientific Secretary M. Ganesh Pillai, and former LPSC Director N. Vedachalam, also participated in the conversation. They interacted with Shukla on the technical and scientific aspects of his experiments.

Under the ISRO–Axiom Spaceflight agreement, Shukla has been performing several research studies aboard the ISS. He shared updates on both the objectives and the challenges associated with the ongoing work in microgravity. Chairman Narayanan reiterated ISRO’s full support for the mission and recalled previous meetings with Shukla to offer motivation and guidance. He also noted that standby astronaut Prashant Balan Nair is being continuously engaged to maintain operational readiness. Shukla’s insights are expected to play a vital role in shaping the Gaganyaan mission, which will mark India’s first attempt at sending humans into low Earth orbit and returning them safely.