Washington [US], June 30 (ANI): The crew of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4)—Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu “Shux” Shukla, and Mission Specialists Slawosz “Suave” Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu—completed their third day aboard the International Space Station (ISS), advancing critical microgravity research and global outreach initiatives, Axiom Space reported.
Commander Peggy Whitson continued her work on the “Cancer in LEO” investigation, capturing imaging samples to better understand how cancer behaves in microgravity. Conducted in collaboration with the Sanford Stem Cell Institute, the study aims to unlock potential treatment approaches for aggressive cancers on Earth.
Whitson also documented student experiments for the Saudi Space Agency’s Microgravity Challenge, which received over 80,000 submissions from students across the Arab world.
Pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu “Shux” Shukla concentrated on a space microalgae experiment, deploying sample bags and imaging algae strains that could serve as future food sources on long-duration space missions.
The crew also contributed to the Neuro Motion VR project, in which astronauts use virtual reality headsets to perform cognitive tasks while their brain activity is monitored. This research is designed to improve understanding of how microgravity affects mental and motor functions.
Additionally, the astronauts gathered data for the Telemetric Health AI study, which integrates biometric data with mission analytics to assess the effects of spaceflight on cardiovascular and balance systems.
Mission Specialist “Suave” Uznanski-Wisniewski worked on the Microfluidic Design experiment using KERMIT imaging tools to analyze fluid behavior in microgravity. The goal is to support the development of autonomous drug testing devices for use in space.
As part of their outreach efforts, Tibor Kapu held a virtual interaction with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Peggy Whitson and Suave also participated in a discussion on astronaut radiation protection with Axiom Space Chief Scientist Dr. Lucie Low.
Tibor is scheduled to speak with Hungarian journalists about his spaceflight experience, and he and Peggy will record the mission’s first update, offering insights into the crew’s adaptation to space and their ongoing tasks.
These scientific and outreach activities follow the successful docking of Axiom Mission 4 with the ISS. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft autonomously docked at 4:05 p.m. IST on Thursday—ahead of schedule—to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers oversaw Dragon’s automated approach and docking.
The Ax-4 crew—former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson; ISRO astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla; ESA astronauts Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary—launched at noon IST on June 25 aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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