Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer and ISRO astronaut, has been selected as the pilot for Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), a private spaceflight set to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) in the spring of 2025, NASA announced on Thursday.

Hungary’s Tibor Kapu (from left), India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, Axiom’s Peggy Whitson, and Poland’s Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski comprise the crew of Axiom Mission 4. [Courtesy: SpaceX]

Shubhanshu Shukla is a distinguished pilot in the Indian Air Force. At 39, he is the youngest to be picked as an astronaut-designate, reports claimed.

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will travel to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in 2025 as part of a joint NASA-ISRO mission. As mission pilot, Shukla will take Indian cultural items and food to the ISS,

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to make history as the first Indian aboard the International Space Station as part of the Axiom Mission 4 in 2025. He aims to represent India's diversity in space and perform yoga during the mission,

Shubhanshu Shukla, an IAF officer and ISRO astronaut, has been selected as the pilot for Axiom Mission 4, scheduled for spring 2025.

The Expedition 72 crew has completed final preparations for a scheduled science and maintenance spacewalk on Thursday. Meanwhile, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) spent the day conducting research on space agriculture,