India’s Space Dreams Take Root: Shubhanshu Shukla Cultivates Future of Gaganyaan on ISS

Image Source: Times of India

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, India's first ISS astronaut, is part of a series of path-breaking experiments aboard which India's next Gaganyaan human space mission in 2027 will be shaped. For the Axiom-4 mission, Shukla is leading the research in microgravity on life support systems, food security, and astronaut health—essential building blocks for long-duration spaceflight.

Important Experiments On Board

Microalgae for Life Support

Shukla is growing three microalgae strains in space to track their response to microgravity.
They might be used as nutrient-dense food, oxygen producers, and recyclers of waste—all important aspects of closed-loop life support systems on future missions.

Indian Superfoods in Space Farming

He is growing moong and methi seeds to test germination and growth under zero gravity.
The objective: create India-specific space food systems and find space-tolerant genes for sustainable agriculture on the Moon or Mars.

Brain & Body in Orbit

Shukla is developing the Neuro Motion VR project that uses virtual reality and brain sensors to study cognitive function in space.
The other research includes muscle loss, aging of cells, and mental health—all crucial for astronaut health in Gaganyaan.

Why It Matters

These are no routine experiments—these are mission-critical. The information Shukla gathers will have a direct bearing on ISRO's life support system design for Gaganyaan, crew health policy, and food sustainability models. His work is also symbolic giant leap: from Rakesh Sharma's 1984 mission to India's first ISS astronaut, the country is now unmistakably on the way to becoming the fourth nation to take humans into space of its own choice.

India Today, Times of India, Sakshi Post