Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will grow THESE superfoods in space, not Makhana, Amla, they are...

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will be the first Indian to go to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 8. IAF Group captain Shubhanshu Shukla, is a part of Axiom Space Mission Ax4, along with commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. Shubhanshu Shukla's 14 day mission will include several experiments, like conducting scientific research and aiding in the promotion of space tourism. One of the most interesting experiments will be sprouting fenugreek (methi) and green gram (moong) seeds in microgravity. 

Agriculture in Space

Growing 'methi' and 'moong daal' in space, would be an important aspect of this upcoming Axiom 4 mission. The focus is on how these plants adapt and behave in microgravity. This will be groundbreaking efforts towards 'space agriculture.' But why these seeds? They have high nutritional and medicinal properties. The astronauts will return to earth with the samples, and researchers will carry out multiple studies on the samples. The study will be focused on their genes and microbial interactions, as per reports. This will pave a way for food productivity in space.  

Along with agriculture, IAF group captain Shubhnashu Shukla and the crew, will also focus on yoga and exercise in microgravity. Moreover, they will also experiment on the impact of microgravity and space radiation on edible microalgae, a high-potential, nutrient-rich food source, as per reports.

About the Axiom 4 mission

Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4), is an international collaboration, with astronauts from India, the US, Hungary, and Poland. The estimated cost of this mission is staggering 550 crores. The Axiom Mission 4, will be launched using the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket, from NASA's Kennedy space centre. It is an important collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), NASA, and Axiom Space.