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Axiom-4 to undock soon, Shubhanshu Shukla's 22-hr homecoming begins after 20-day space mission
Axiom-4 mission, featuring Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, is set to undock from the International Space Station on July 14th, on Sunday. (Source: X/Axiom Space)
Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, along with Commander Peggy Whitson, Slawosz 'Suave' Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Tibor Kapu, is preparing to return to Earth after an 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission.
According to NASA, the crew began departure preparations with hatch closure at 2:00 pm IST on Monday (July 14).
By 2:25 pm IST, the crew was inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named 'Grace,' with the hatch closed.
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Undocking procedures are set to start at approximately 4:15 pm IST, with the actual undocking from the ISS's Harmony module expected at 4:35 pm IST (7:05 am EDT).
The spacecraft is scheduled to splash down off the California coast in the Pacific Ocean at around 3:00 pm IST (9:30 am GMT) on Tuesday (July 15), with a one-hour margin of flexibility due to weather and re-entry conditions, as noted by Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh.
'These timings have a margin window of approximately 1 hour,' Indian Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh said.
What was Shukla's mission?
During his time on the ISS, Shukla conducted significant experiments, including a study on space microalgae to explore their potential for producing food, oxygen, and biofuels for long-duration space missions.
He performed centrifugation on cyanobacteria, comparing two strains to investigate how microgravity impacts their growth, cellular behaviour, and biochemical activity.
These experiments, among the 60+ conducted by the Ax-4 crew, could pave the way for advancements in space agriculture and life support systems.
(This is developing story)
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