New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, currently on board the International Space Station, is expected to begin his journey back to Earth on July 14, said Axiom Space on Friday.
Shukla, along with three other crew members Peggy Whitson, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Tibor Kapu will undock inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from the Harmony module’s space-facing port for a return to Earth.
“The #Ax4 crew is scheduled to undock from the @Space_Station no earlier than Monday, July 14, at 7:05 a.m. ET (4:35 pm IST),” Axiom Space said in a post on social media platform X.
A splashdown is expected several hours after the undocking, near the coast of California in the Pacific Ocean.
“We are working with the station programme, watching the Axiom-4 progress carefully. I think we need to undock that mission, and the current target to undock is July 14,” Steve Stitch, Manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program, told a press conference.
IAF Group Captain Shukla is on a 14-day mission to the ISS. He became the first Indian to visit the ISS and the second Indian astronaut after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who went to space in 1984.
On the orbital post, Shukla carried out seven India-specific experiments, taking a major step in advancing India’s Gaganyaan human space flight mission. These included experiments to decode muscle loss, developing a brain-computer interface, and sprouting green gram and fenugreek seeds in space, among others.
He also interacted with students from Kerala and Lucknow via video conferencing from the ISS. The students were able to interact with Shukla for around 10 minutes and they bombarded him with questions like what astronauts eat, how one sleeps in space, and what happens if someone falls sick.
The students also sought to know about the benefits of the space programme and what part of the space visit was most enjoyable.
During the interaction, Shukla described the launch experience of the Axiom Mission 4 as “amazing” and “dynamic”.
“It is fun actually, because in space there is no floor and no ceiling. So if you were to come and visit the station (ISS), you would find someone sleeping on the walls, someone on the ceiling,” he told students.
–IANS
rvt/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.