Meet Indian astronauts Shubhanshu Shukla, Prashanth Nair who are selected for NASA-ISRO mission to space station

ISRO on Friday said its Human Space Flight Centre has ventured into a space flight agreement with Axiom Space Inc, USA for its Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

The National Mission Assignment Board has recommended two ’gaganyatris’ as prime and backup mission pilots for this mission, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla (prime) and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair (backup). “The assigned crewmembers will be finally approved to fly to the International Space Station by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP). The recommended gaganyatris will commence their training for the mission from the first week of August 2024,” ISRO asserted in a statement.

During the mission, the gaganyatris will undertake scientific research and technology demonstration experiments on board the ISS and get involved in space outreach activities. “The experiences gained during this mission will be beneficial for the Indian Human Space Programme and it will also strengthen human space flight cooperation between ISRO and NASA,” the Indian space agency said. 

It added the joint statement issued by ISRO and US space agency NASA in June 2023, during the official visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the USA, mentioned a joint ISRO-NASA mission to the ISS.