"Such a huge achievement for India": South Australia Governor congratulates Indian space community as Axiom-4 lifts off

New Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): South Australia Governor Frances Adamson AC has congratulated the Indian space community and Indians across the world as the Axiom-4 mission, piloted by Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday. She wished the mission "success" and termed it a "huge achievement" for India.

Speaking to ANI, Adamson stated that it is a "great achievement" for Captain Shukla. She noted that the mission will bring benefits to India and the world.

On the launch of the Axiom-4 mission, she said, "Obviously, anyone watching this launch just has to be overjoyed at how successful it's been and as Governor of South Australia, I congratulate the whole Indian space community and all Indians here in India and around the world, including in South Australia. What an achievement and what a wonderful day for Group Captain Shukla. He will remember this for the rest of his life as will I. Such a pleasure and a privilege and an honour to be here with you today."

Frances Adamson AC said that Australia looks forward to closer cooperation with India on all the things that will arise due to the Axiom-4 mission.

"I think this will bring benefits, of course, to India, but to the world, and every space mission takes us further forward. So, as a close partner of India and Adelaide is home to the Australian Space Agency, we look forward to even closer cooperation on all the many things that will arise as a result of this amazing mission," she said.

As Axiom Mission 4 was launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday, Frances Adamson AC, along with Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh, and Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green OAM and others celebrated the moment in Delhi.

She said, "I congratulate India on holding the India Space Congress. This is clearly a big moment in India's space history, and it's wonderful as Governor of South Australia to be here today and to talk about the international collaboration that we enjoy with India."

Ahead of the launch of the Axiom-4 mission, "I wish the launch every success. It will be such a huge achievement for India. It's taken time to get here and I know the nation will be overjoyed once we hear news of its successful launch."

Speaking to ANI, Philip Green OAM called India and Australia "natural partners" in space and said that the interests of the two nations are complementary. He recalled that Australian tracking facilities first got the message from the Gaganyaan space capsule. He also talked about the upcoming International Astronomical Congress set to be held in Sydney.

On the Axiom-4 mission, OAM said, "Firstly, Australia and India are natural partners in space. We are now strategically aligned as nations and both focused on the opportunities in space. Our interests are complementary. Australia is a large country with very few people, which means we have dark skies and very huge capabilities for launch as well as strong tracking capabilities. It was Australian tracking facilities that first got that message from the Gaganyaan space capsule right there on the south pole of the moon."

"So, there is huge possibility between us and here we have represented three of our six states, including the governor of the state of South Australia, to demonstrate how keen we are to engage with India and there's a particular message we have that Sydney, Australia will be hosting the International Astronomical Congress in just three months and we're welcoming Indian delegates to see what that has to offer to engage with the Australian side but also the whole space community of the world that will be gathered in our great city of Sydney," he added.

When asked how he sees India's participation in space mission, he said, "This is a natural development isn't it? India is coming of age as a player in space. You look back decades to when space was a province for countries like the United States and the Soviet Union. Now it's much more varied and we see that India is one of the truly fastest-growing countries in space. Our country is too, by the way, our space industry is growing at 10 per cent year on year per annum. We congratulate India on all its success and we look forward to a further measure of that success today with the Axiom."

The Axiom Mission 4, launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 2:31 am Eastern Time.

This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The crew is travelling to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The targeted docking time is approximately 7 am Eastern Time (4 pm IST) on Thursday, June 26.

Once docked, the astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting a mission comprised of science, outreach, and commercial activities. Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, is in command of the mission, while Indian Space Research Organisation Astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla serves as pilot.

The two mission specialists are European Space Agency project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The astronauts are using the new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit, which provides them with advanced capabilities for space exploration while providing NASA with commercially developed human systems needed to access, live and work on and around the Moon.

The advanced spacesuits ensure astronauts are equipped with high-performing, robust equipment and are designed to accommodate a wide range of crew members. The Ax-4 mission is going to conduct major research. The research complement includes around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including the U.S., India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE, and nations across Europe.

This will be the most research and science-related activities conducted on an Axiom Space mission aboard the International Space Station to date. NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) are collaborating to launch several scientific investigations. 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. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)