The government of India announced that in May of this year, it will send an astronaut to the International Space Station. This will be the first such case in over 40 years. The Indian Space Research Organisation stated that astronaut Shubham Chawla, a commander in the Indian Air Force, will participate in the mission under the name 'Axiom-4,' which is being carried out by the American company 'Axiom Space' together with international partners.
The Minister of State for the Federal Cabinet of Ministers responsible for space, Jitendra Singh, indicated that this mission represents the first visit of an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station since the historic flight of Rakesh Sharma in 1984 aboard the 'Soyuz' spacecraft of the Soviet Union.
