India’s Shubhanshu Shukla joins pioneering space study to unlock diabetes care beyond Earth

As India’s Shubhanshu Shukla prepares to embark on the Axiom-4 mission launching June 10, he and fellow astronauts will participate in a groundbreaking study that could change the future of space travel for people with diabetes.

Currently, insulin-dependent diabetics are excluded from astronaut selection due to the challenges of managing blood sugar levels in microgravity. The unique environment of space disrupts how the body regulates glucose, making it difficult to maintain stable levels without constant monitoring and adjustment.

The Axiom-4 mission aims to change that. One or more astronauts on board — identities undisclosed — will wear Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) throughout the two-week journey, transmitting real-time blood sugar data back to a research team on Earth. Additionally, blood samples collected in flight will help validate the CGM readings.

A key focus of the study is testing two types of insulin pens: one stored refrigerated, the other kept at ambient temperature. Researchers will analyze whether these pens retain their effectiveness and structural integrity under microgravity conditions.

“This study marks an important step toward enabling safe space travel for diabetic individuals,” said Mohammad Fityan, clinical lead of the Suite Ride project and chief medical officer at Dubai’s Burjeel Medical City, collaborating with Axiom Space. “Beyond space exploration, these insights could transform diabetes management here on Earth.”

While diabetes research in space is not new—previous missions have used CGMs or tested insulin delivery—this project is notably more comprehensive. The Polaris Dawn mission astronauts wore CGMs last year for five days, and Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 07 mission demonstrated insulin delivery in sub-orbital flight. But the Axiom-4 mission combines real-time monitoring, CGM validation, and insulin pen testing in a microgravity setting for the first time.

“Microgravity removes many of the physical forces acting on the body, allowing us to observe metabolic processes in a new way,” Fityan explained. “Although the mission is short-term, the data collected will be critical for understanding diabetes in space.”

The implications reach far beyond astronauts. Microgravity-induced fluid shifts in the body mimic conditions faced by long-term bedridden patients on Earth, suggesting that findings from this mission could improve diabetes care for such populations.

Moreover, Fityan emphasized the possibility of unexpected discoveries: “Scientific research often yields secondary outcomes that open new avenues of treatment and understanding.”

As Shukla and his team prepare for this historic mission, their work may not only open the door for diabetic astronauts but also spark advances that improve millions of lives back home.