Union Minister for Department of Space, Dr Jitendra Singh announced that the Indian Astronaut Group Captain, Shubhanshu Shukla will conduct food and nutrition-related experiments on-board the International Space Station (ISS). The experiments will be conducted as part of the upcoming Axiom Mission 4. In a media briefing on Saturday, Dr Singh said that the experiment will examine the impact of microgravity and space radiation on edible microalgae, a high-potential and nutrient-rich food source. He said that the study will focus on key growth parameters and the changes in transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes of various algal species in space compared to Earth conditions.The Space biology experiments aboard the ISS will be conducted using indigenously developed biotechnology kits under the Department of Biotechnology. These specialized kits, tailored for microgravity conditions, have been designed and validated by Indian scientists to ensure precision and reliability in space-based research.
Group Captain Shukla is part of the first team of Indian astronauts trained for human spaceflight. The Axiom 4 mission is a planned private spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) operated by Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX and NASA. The flight is scheduled to lift off from Kennedy Space Center on 8th June.
