India’s Rs 500 crore bet on Shubhanshu Shukla is more than just space trip; Know how it is leap into future of global space leadership

India’s space program has always been praised for dreaming big while spending less. We managed to send a mission to Mars cheaper than a Hollywood movie, and even landed near the Moon’s South Pole without burning a hole in our pocket.

Now, India is taking another huge step: sending an Indian citizen with an Indian passport to space for the very first time.

As part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a highly respected pilot from the Indian Air Force, will be part of a 14-day journey to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is being organised by Axiom Space, a private US company, in collaboration with NASA and ISRO.

This will make Shubhanshu only the second Indian ever to go to space, after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984.

The launch is scheduled for June 8, 2025, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Interestingly, this is the same rocket that recently brought astronaut Sunita Williams back from space after a long stay on the ISS.

Group Captain Shubhanshu will serve as mission pilot, working alongside Commander Peggy Whitson, a NASA veteran with four spaceflights. The crew also includes Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

The mission will cost India around Rs 500 crore (over USD 60 million). While that might sound expensive, it’s actually an investment in India's future in space — not just an expense.

Why This Mission Matters
Space is becoming more than a scientific challenge. It’s now a strategic area — tied to global communication, defence, resource use, and even tourism. India’s involvement through Ax-4 helps secure its place in this future.

The Ax-4 mission will include nearly 60 scientific experiments, with participation from 31 countries, including India, the US, Poland, Hungary, Brazil, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Out of these, seven are led by ISRO.

India’s experiments will study:

How screens affect vision and thinking in space

How microalgae and cyanobacteria grow in microgravity

Muscle loss in space and potential treatments

Growth of different crop seeds in space

How life forms become more resilient in extreme space conditions

The astronauts will also connect with students on Earth using Ham radio, sharing their experience and sparking curiosity among young minds.

A Bigger Vision for the Future
The Ax-4 mission is only the beginning. In the next two years, ISRO will launch Gaganyaan, carrying three astronauts into space. By 2028, India plans to launch the first module of its own space station, the Bharat Antariksha Station, and aims to have a full space station by 2035.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s journey to the ISS is not just a moment in history — it’s the first step in India’s long journey into space.