Shubhanshu Shukla turns farmer in area; grows methi, moong seeds

Within the closing leg of his area sojourn, Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla changed into a farmer, taking pictures of ‘moong’ and ‘methi’ seeds sprouting in petri dishes and inserting them right into a storage freezer on the Worldwide Area Station (ISS) as a part of a examine on how microgravity influences germination and early plant growth.

Captain Shukla and his fellow Axiom-4 astronauts have spent 12 days on the orbital lab and they’re anticipated to return to Earth any day after July 10, relying on the climate situations off the Florida coast.

NASA is but to announce a date for the undocking of the Axiom-4 mission from the area station. The length of the Axiom-4 mission docked to the ISS is as much as 14 days.

“I’m so proud that ISRO has been in a position to collaborate with nationwide establishments all around the nation and give you some improbable analysis which I’m doing on the station for all of the scientists and researchers. It’s thrilling and a pleasure to do that,” Captain Shukla stated in an interplay with Axiom Area Chief Scientist Lucie Low on Wednesday (July 9, 2025).

The sprouts experiment is led by two scientists — Ravikumar Hosamani of the College of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad and Sudheer Siddapureddy of the Indian Institute of Expertise, Dharwad.

As soon as returned to Earth, the seeds shall be cultivated over a number of generations to look at modifications of their genetics, microbial ecosystems and dietary profiles, a press release from Axiom Area stated.

In one other experiment, Captain Shukla deployed and stowed microalgae, that are being investigated for his or her potential to provide meals, oxygen and even biofuels. Their resilience and flexibility make them excellent for supporting human life on long-duration missions.

Captain Shukla additionally captured photographs for the crop seeds experiment, the place six varieties shall be grown over a number of generations post-mission. The aim is to establish crops with fascinating traits for genetic evaluation for sustainable farming in area.

Captain Shukla stated his analysis duties on the area station spanned varied domains and disciplines.

“Proper from doing stem cell analysis and searching on the impact of microgravity on seeds to evaluating the cognitive load on astronauts whereas they’re interacting with screens onboard the station. It has been improbable. I really feel proud to be this sort of a bridge between the researchers and the station and do the analysis on behalf of them,” he stated.

“One explicit analysis I’m actually enthusiastic about is stem cell analysis the place scientists are attempting to discover whether or not it’s potential to speed up restoration or development or restore harm by including dietary supplements to stem cells. It has been nice to work within the Glove Field doing this analysis for them. I’m actually excited to be doing this,” Captain Shukla stated.