What does the Axiom Mission 4 entail?

Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) is a commercial space mission to the International Space Station.

The launch of the flight is anticipated in April 2025 and is projected to span approximately 14 days.

Axiom Space will manage it and utilize a SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle.

A Falcon 9 rocket will be utilized to send the Crew Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Despegado desde: el Centro Espacial Kennedy de NASA en Florida, EE. UU.

Crew: The Indian astronaut will be accompanied by three additional astronauts.

The private astronauts would carry out a mission that includes scientific research, outreach efforts, and commercial endeavors.

What caused the delay of the Axiom Mission 4?

The launch of the mission was initially set for 29 May at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, but it was delayed.

A leak of liquid oxygen (LOX) was found during the inspection of the booster. LOX serves as an essential element of rocket fuel, supplying the oxygen needed for combustion in space, where atmospheric oxygen is absent.

NASA has also identified leaks in the aging Russian segment of the International Space Station.

The SpaceX crew has resolved the leak and completed essential validation tests prior to the launch clearance.

Experiments in space conducted by ISRO during the Axiom-4 Mission:

Throughout the 14 days at the ISS, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla (ISRO) will carry out seven microgravity research experiments suggested by national R&D laboratories and educational institutions.

The experiments encompass the effects of microgravity radiation on Edible Micro-algae, germinating salad seeds in space, and the survival, revival, reproduction, and transcriptome of Tardigrades in space, among others.