Chennai: The prestigious Axiom-4 AX-4 mission to be piloted by Indian Astronaut to International Space Station (ISS) after1984 has been pushed by two days to June 10 with an additional crew in the form of a swan signalling peace.
The mission was ealrier scheduled in the end of May this year, deferred to June 8 and
now again pushed by two days to June 10, NASA said on this collaborative mission.
The added feature of this deferred mission was Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu
Shukla and his three colleagues would be joined by an unllkely and pleasant “fifth crew member” —Joy, a plush version of a swan, which has a cultural significance in all the countries that are part of the mission.
Joy is the mascot of the Mission., which will now take off on June 10 at 5.52 pm IST
from the NASA Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Cap Shuka will also be carrying a special souvenir in honour of the contribution of wing commander Rakesh Sharma, his mentor and predecessor in space travel that took placeway back in 1984, becoming the first Indian to travel to space.
At an Axiom-4 pre-launch media interaction, the miniaturised plushie representing the swan sat comfortably on Shukla’s lap.
Introducing Joy, as the “fifth crew” of AX-4, American astronaut and mission commander Peggy Whitson said a swan held a cultural connection for all the countries representing the mission.
“We believe Joy is the perfect representation of all the qualities that the mission imbibes,” he said.
Shukla said that in the Hindu mythology, the swan represents the goddess Saraswati’s vehicle.
According to Indian mythology, swan represents the greater values of wisdom, knowledge and clarity of thought and purpose, which has significant qualities of separating water from milk.
In Poland, also part the mission, the swan is a symbol of grace, beauty and wisdom, and in
Hungary, many traditional folklores have connected the swan to journeys beyond the Earth’s realm.
NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) are collaborating to launch scientific investigations aboard Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. These studies include examining muscle regeneration, growth of sprouts and edible microalgae, survival of tiny aquatic organisms, and human interaction with electronic displays in microgravity.
The mission is targeted to launch no earlier than Tuesday, June 10, aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 8:22 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 10, for launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4. This shift allows teams to account for predicted inclement weather during the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft transport in addition to completing final processing of the spacecraft ahead of launch”.
