KATHMANDU: NASA has announced that it will broadcast the departure of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew from the International Space Station (ISS) live on July 14.
Among the crew members returning is Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the ISS, who served as the pilot for the private space mission.
The Ax-4 team, which includes NASA veteran Commander Peggy Whitson, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu under the Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) program, will undock from the ISS aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
The spacecraft is scheduled to detach from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 7:05 am EDT (4:30 PM IST). NASA’s live coverage will begin earlier at 4:30 am EDT (2:00 PM IST) with the hatch closing process and will conclude about 30 minutes after undocking. Following this, the re-entry and splashdown of the Dragon capsule off the coast of California will be streamed via Axiom Space and SpaceX’s official platforms.
The Ax-4 mission was launched on June 25 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and docked with the ISS the next day. Over the course of their 17-day mission, the crew conducted more than 60 scientific experiments aimed at advancing research in space biology, cognition, and human health.
Group Captain Shukla, in particular, was involved in activities such as processing microalgae samples to explore sustainable life support options for deep space travel and conducting the Voyager Displays study on eye movement and coordination in microgravity. He also contributed to projects analyzing changes in vocal performance in space and participated in cognitive testing to examine how astronauts adapt to microgravity environments.
The mission also gathered data for a range of human health studies, including those focused on gut microbiota, immune system responses, muscle stimulation, and microbiome profiling. These experiments are expected to play a key role in improving our understanding of the physiological challenges posed by long-duration space missions.
The returning Dragon capsule will carry more than 580 pounds of cargo, including critical NASA hardware and experimental data. NASA will air the initial stages of departure, while the remaining coverage including re-entry will be streamed on axiom.space/live and SpaceX’s website.
Axiom Mission 4 represents a significant step for commercial spaceflight and marks a milestone for India with Group Captain Shukla’s participation in a crewed mission to the ISS.
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