Expert Explains: Why Axiom-4 matters

Rakesh Sharma to Shubhanshu Shukla, India’s space story

I remember how excited people of my generation were when Rakesh Sharma went into space on a Russian mission in 1984. It was a very big event. It showed where we wanted to be, and what our aspirations were.

But that event happened when India’s space program was still in its very early stages. We did not have the infrastructure and the capability to make productive use of Sharma’s achievement. We also did not have a definitive plan or roadmap for the future: a human spaceflight was not on the horizon. Sharma’s achievement became an isolated event of sorts.

This is where Shukla’s flight is fundamentally different. Sharma’s flight had huge symbolic and inspirational value. Shukla’s flight will have practical uses as well. ISRO has, in the intervening years, emerged as one of the leading space agencies of the world with the ability to execute very complex missions. Human spaceflight is one of the few remaining frontiers that ISRO still has to conquer.

In fact, if Gaganyaan had followed its original schedule — 2022 was a very ambitious deadline — we would already have sent humans into space by now. But it is just as well that the Axiom-4 mission is happening before that. We will benefit from Shukla’s experience and learnings.

Gaganyaan ahead, importance of Shukla’s critical inputs

Human spaceflight missions are extremely challenging, more so when you are doing it for the first time. They are maybe a couple of orders of magnitude more complex than uncrewed missions because of the safety protocols that have to be integrated. This is the challenge that ISRO faces with the Gaganyaan mission. And every bit of additional input that reduces the risk and increases the safety of the mission is invaluable.

That is why Shukla’s experience with the Axiom-4 mission is important. He will bring real-life exposure that can be utilised in Gaganyaan. Shukla is the designated pilot of the Axiom-4 mission. He will learn a lot and gain in many ways during this mission.

Although a lot of the spacecraft is automated, it does require human intervention. It is not a point-to-point travel. The spacecraft has to follow a complicated orbit to reach the ISS, which is a moving target in space. The pilot will be required to take a number of decisions, and initiate several processes, during the flight to the destination.

This kind of experience will be critical for the other Indian astronauts who would be going on the Gaganyaan mission. Real-life experience is very different from training and simulations. Right now, we only have Rakesh Sharma with this experience, and the technologies during his time were very different. Countries that have a human spaceflight program benefit a great deal from astronauts transferring their knowledge and experience to the next generation.

Also, Shukla will be the first Indian to go to the ISS. He will have an opportunity to see how the ISS functions and operates. ISRO’s next big project, after Gaganyaan, is to build its own space station. That is a massive infrastructural endeavour. After his two-week stay on the ISS, Shukla would be in a position to offer critical inputs here as well.

Muscle behaviour to moong dal: Experiments for future projects

The experiments that ISRO has designed for the Axiom-4 mission are very interesting. And again, they directly feed into ISRO’s own future needs and projects. This is the first opportunity for ISRO to carry out such customised experiments in space. Many are biology-related, and a few are technology experiments.

The zero-gravity conditions in space offer a unique setting for studies that are extremely difficult to do on Earth. For example, one of ISRO’s experiments relates to the study of muscle behaviour. Muscle degradation can be because of natural causes; it can also be affected by a person’s weight. On Earth, it is very difficult to decouple these two causes because of gravity. Space’s zero-gravity environment gets rid of the weight factor and allows the study of changes in muscles purely due to natural reasons, which that can lead to breakthroughs in the understanding of human health.

The experiments on sprouts, specifically on moong dal, on the micro-algae, and others are all very interesting, and tailored to Indian requirements. Participation in the Axiom-4 mission has given India an opportunity to carry out these experiments in space. These can be followed up with a new set of experiments on the Gaganyaan mission.

Boosting space economy and attracting new talent

Shukla’s flight is the beginning of a series of steps that will lead up to the human Moon landing that ISRO has planned to undertake by 2040. An important prerequisite for that is the creation of a strong ecosystem for space activities that would also involve the participation of the private sector.

Space is a costly endeavour, and the sector can benefit hugely from private-sector participation. It will also make the sector more vibrant, facilitate innovation, expedite technology development, and attract new, young talent. It can also boost economic growth.

Globally, the space market is worth about $500 billion, and is expected to double by the year 2030. India, despite being a major spacefaring nation, accounts for a just 2% share of this market. We have the ambition of increasing our share to at least 10% in the coming years.
Shukla’s flight, and similar events, can make an important contribution towards this. School children will be witnessing this — it is the kind of event that is likely to dominate their imagination and, at least in some cases, shape their careers and future. Unlike 40 years ago, these children have the opportunity and the ecosystem to turn their dreams into reality.

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Somak Raychaudhury is an astrophysicist and Vice Chancellor and Professor of Physics at Ashoka University. He spoke to Amitabh Sinha