{"id":41425,"date":"2024-07-06T01:23:50","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T19:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=41425"},"modified":"2025-10-07T12:54:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T07:24:36","slug":"axiom-4-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/axiom-4-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Axiom-4 Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in the News?<\/li>\n<li>About Axiom-4 Mission<\/li>\n<li>Mission Objectives<\/li>\n<li>Key Features<\/li>\n<li>About International Space Station (ISS)<\/li>\n<li>Participating Space Agencies<\/li>\n<li>News Summary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in the News?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>As a part of the Axiom-4 mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has shortlisted two of its four trained Gaganyaan astronauts to travel to the International Space Station (ISS).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>About Axiom-4 Mission<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Axiom Mission 4 (or Ax-4) is a private spaceflight to the International Space Station.<\/li>\n<li>It is operated by Axiom Space and uses a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.<\/li>\n<li>The flight is in collaboration with <strong>NASA<\/strong> and will be the fourth flight of Axiom Space after <strong>Axiom Mission 1<\/strong>, <strong>Axiom Mission 2<\/strong> and <strong>Axiom Mission 3<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Scheduled to launch in 2024, Axiom-4 will continue the company&#8217;s pioneering efforts to establish a sustainable human presence in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Mission Objectives<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Commercial Space Endeavours:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Axiom-4 aims to <strong>facilitate commercial activities in space<\/strong>, including scientific research, technological development, and space tourism.<\/li>\n<li>The mission will help demonstrate the viability of commercial space stations as a platform for business and innovation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>International Collaboration:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Axiom-4 is set to carry a <strong>diverse crew of astronauts from different countries<\/strong>, reflecting the growing international interest in space exploration.<\/li>\n<li>This mission will strengthen partnerships between nations and contribute to global space initiatives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Research and Development:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The mission will support various scientific experiments and technological tests in the unique microgravity environment of space.<\/li>\n<li>Research areas include materials science, biology, Earth observation, and more, with the potential to yield groundbreaking discoveries and innovations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Key Features<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Spacecraft and Crew:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The mission will use a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket.<\/li>\n<li>The crew will consist of professional astronauts and private individuals, including researchers and potentially tourists, who have undergone rigorous training for the mission.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Duration and Activities:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Axiom-4 is expected to be a short-duration mission, <strong>lasting approximately 14 days<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>During their time aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the crew will conduct scientific experiments, perform technology demonstrations, and engage in educational outreach.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Commercial Space Station Development:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Axiom Space&#8217;s long-term vision includes <strong>building the world&#8217;s first commercial space station<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The Axiom-4 mission is part of the company&#8217;s broader plan to eventually transition from the ISS to their own independent orbital outpost.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>About International Space Station (ISS)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>International Space Station is a modular space station launched in <strong>1998<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>Modular stations can allow modules to be added to or removed from the existing structure, allowing greater flexibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>It is a large laboratory in space that allows astronauts to come aboard and stay for weeks or months to carry out experiments in microgravity.<\/li>\n<li>The first crew on the ISS arrived on November 2, 2000.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Objective:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>To conduct scientific research in astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, physics, and other fields.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>It is the largest artificial object in space.<\/li>\n<li>It circles the Earth in roughly 93 minutes, completing 15.5 orbits per day.<\/li>\n<li>Currently, the ISS has eight solar arrays generating about 160 kilowatts of power total.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Altitude:<\/strong> 400 km<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Participating Space Agencies<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies:\n<ul>\n<li>National Aeronautics and Space Administration (<strong>USA<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (<strong>Russia<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (<strong>Japan<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>European Space Agency (<strong>Europe<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>Canadian Space Agency (<strong>Canada<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The station is divided into two sections:\n<ul>\n<li>The Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) \u2013 Operated by Russia,<\/li>\n<li>The United States Orbital Segment (USOS) \u2013 Operated by the US as well as many other nations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The ownership &amp; use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties &amp; agreements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>News Summary<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>As a part of the Axiom-4 mission, the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/isro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)<\/a> has shortlisted two of its four trained Gaganyaan astronauts to travel to the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/international-space-station\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">International Space Station (ISS)<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>However, <strong>only one of the shortlisted astronauts will go on the mission<\/strong> which is supposed to take place \u201cno earlier than October 2024,\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>The astronauts will have to go to the United States ahead of the mission to train on the specifics of the ISS.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q1. What is the Lower Orbit of the Earth?<\/h3>\n<p>Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) is an orbit with altitude ranging from 200\u2013300 km to 1600 km. In LEO, particles of different origin are encountered: protons, electrons, heavy ions, neutrons, and others.<\/p>\n<h3>Q2. What is Lagrange Point in simple words?<\/h3>\n<p>Lagrange Points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system like the Sun and Earth produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion. These can be used by spacecraft as &#8220;parking spots&#8221; in space to remain in a fixed position with minimal fuel consumption.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/2-gaganyaan-astronauts-to-go-to-iss-aboard-the-axiom-4-mission-9435821\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Two Gaganyaan astronauts shortlisted, one to travel to International Space Station on NASA mission this year<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Axiom Mission 4 (or Ax-4) is a private spaceflight to the International Space Station.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":41426,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-41425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}