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Axiom Mission 4
Private crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station in 2025 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Axiom Mission 4 (Ax‑4) is a planned private spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) operated by Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX and NASA.[1] It will use a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket to place Crew Dragon C213 into low Earth orbit. This will be the maiden flight of the C213 spacecraft, the fifth and final Crew Dragon to be built.[2][3]
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The flight was scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on 11 June 2025, but the first attempt was scrubbed due to a liquid oxygen leak.[4] The next attempt was postponed until 19 June 2025 8:53 am UTC (4:53 am EDT, 2:53 pm IST, 10:53 am CET)[5] due to an unrelated leak in the Zvezda service module of the ISS.[4]
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Crew
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The crew of four consists of commander Peggy Whitson, an Axiom employee; pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Space Research Organisation; and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, a European Space Agency project astronaut from Poland, and Tibor Kapu representing the Hungarian Space Office.[6] While Shubhanshu Shukla will be the second Indian astronaut, he will be the first member of India's astronaut corps to fly to space.
The mission represents the first government-sponsored human spaceflight in over 40 years, and the second overall, for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each country having previously participated in one Soviet-era Interkosmos mission.[7] While the Interkosmos missions docked at Salyut 6 or Salyut 7, this is the first mission for those countries to the ISS.
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Gaganyaan
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Ax‑4 represents a milestone for India's Indian Human Spaceflight Programme, integrating with ISRO's Gaganyaan initiative. While Gaganyaan remains India's independent crewed program, Ax‑4 provides the first opportunity for an Indian astronaut—Shubhanshu Shukla—to fly on a commercial mission to the ISS. Shukla will conduct experiments developed by ISRO and Indian institutions, including studies of cognitive effects of screen use, microbial adaptation, muscle atrophy, and crop resilience in microgravity.[9][10][11]
Experiments
- Experiments co-ordinated by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO):
- Space Microalgae (International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) & National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), India)— Impact of Microgravity and Radiation in ISS on Edible Microalgae.[12][13]
- Myogenesis (Institute of Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (InStem), India) — Effect of metabolic supplements on muscle regeneration under microgravity.[12][13]
- Sprouts (University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad & Indian Institute of Technology, Dharwad) — Sprouting Salad Seeds in Space: Relevance to Crew Nutrition.[12][13]
- Voyager Tardigrade (Indian Institute of Science) — Survival, revival, reproduction, and transcriptome of the eutardigrade Paramacrobiotus sp. BLR strain in space.[12][13]
- Voyager Displays (Indian Institute of Science) — Analyzing Human Interaction with Electronic Displays in Microgravity.[12][13]
- Cyanobacteria in Microgravity (International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB)) — Comparative growth and proteomics responses of cyanobacteria on urea and nitrate in microgravity.[13]
- Food Crop Seeds in Microgravity (Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology & Kerala Agricultural University) — Impact of Microgravity on Growth and Yield Parameters in Food Crop Seeds.[13]
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HUNOR
Ax‑4 will also carry Hungary's first astronaut since the fall of the Soviet Union. Although Hungary is also part of the ESA, the HUNOR (short for HUNgarian to ORbit) mission was developed by the Hungarian Space Office (HSO) completely independent of ESA.[14] HUNOR was first announced in 2021 and in July 2022 the Hungarian foreign ministry signed a preliminary deal with Axiom for the flight,[14] which was finalized in September 2023.[14] Tibor Kapu was selected from 247 applicants to fly on the mission, supported by backup astronaut Gyula Cserényi.[15] Kapu is a mechanical engineer and recreational skydiver, Cserényi is an electrical engineer and amateur steeplechase racer.[16] Both completed their NASA training in April 2025.[17] The HUNOR mission has its own patch, separate from the Axiom Mission 4 patch, depicting the Csodaszarvas and four stars representing the final astronaut candidates.[14]
Ignis
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For Poland, Ax‑4 is the first crewed mission since 1978. The Polish Space Agency (POLSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have partnered on the Ignis mission for astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski. He is the second ESA astronaut to fly on a commercial human spaceflight mission. His payload suite includes experiments in technology and life sciences.[18][19][20][21]
Mission patch
The Ignis mission has its own patch, separate from the Axiom Mission 4 patch, depicting an eagle in the Polish colors whose wings trace the contours of the Orla Perć mountain range and a stylized depiction of the Scutum constellation (a tribute to Johannes Hevelius who named the constellation) over the mission's name, Ignis, the Latin word for fire.[22]
Experiments
- AstroMentalHealth (University of Silesia) — impact of isolation, technology, and limited contact with nature on astronauts' mental health[23]
- AstroPerformance (Mollis Textus) (Smarter Diagnostics) — studying the impact of spaceflight on the soft tissues of the musculoskeletal system[24]
- EEG Neurofeedback (Academy of Physical Education and Sport in Gdańsk) — electroencephalography for supporting astronaut's mental resilience and focus[25]
- Human Gut Microbiota (Military University of Technology) — study of changes in the community of microorganisms in the digestive system during spaceflight[26]
- Immune Multiomics (Military University of Technology) — effects of the space environment on gene expression and DNA methylation in blood mononuclear cells[27]
- Leopard Data Processing Unit (KP Labs) — demonstrating AI‑based data processing in orbit to reduce ground infrastructure requirements[28]
- MXene in LEO (AGH University of Krakow) — stability of MXene-type nanomaterials in space conditions and their use in wearable devices[29]
- PhotonGrav (Cortivision) — testing functional near-infrared spectroscopy-based brain-computer interface[30]
- RadMon-on-ISS (SigmaLabs) — scalable radiation detectors[31]
- Space Volcanic Algae (Extremo Technologies) — survival and adaptation of extremophilic volcanic microalgae in space conditions[32][33]
- Stability of Drugs (Polish Academy of Sciences) — stability of polymeric drug release systems in space conditions[34]
- Wireless Acoustics (Svantek) — noise measurements in the ESA Columbus module using an acoustic monitor and a personal dosimeter[35]
- Yeast TardigradeGene (University of Szczecin, Adam Mickiewicz University, and University of Silesia) — survival and energy state of tardigrade-gene-infused yeast in space conditions[36][37]
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Launch attempts
On June 10, the launch of Ax-4 was postponed after SpaceX detected a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon 9 rocket during a post-static fire inspection. The mission was put on hold to allow time for necessary repairs. SpaceX officially announced it was "standing down" from the launch to ensure the safety and integrity of the mission hardware.[38]
On June 12, the mission was delayed to no earlier than June 18 to allow the crew of the space station to investigate a new potential pressure leak. The potential leak was detected following leak repair and sealing efforts by Russian cosmonauts in the aft segment of the Zvezda module, where multiple previous leaks have occurred.[39]
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See also
References
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