Mar 28, 2025

While the overall cost estimate of the project initially was Rs 715 crore, the actual expenditure as of Dec 2024 was Rs 413 crore and another Rs 135 crore has been earmarked for the project this fiscal, expected to be expended in the first quarter, given that Axiom Space is aiming for the launch this spring. That would take the amount spent to Rs 548 crore, which would roughly translate to around $64 million. Isro, Axiom and Nasa have not officially disclosed the cost of the mission so far, and the figures available are through DoS's annual budget accounting. Aside from the Rs 548 crore — Rs 413 crore Isro has already spent and Rs 135 crore it will spend in the upcoming fiscal — the DoS is expected to have Rs 168 crore as balance at the end of March 2026. The Ax-4, being implemented by Axiom Space is part of the Isro-Nasa joint effort to send and Indian to the ISS, an announcement Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made during his official visit to the US in 2023. As part of the implementation, Isro's Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) and Nasa entered into a Space Flight Agreement (SFA), as part of which Nasa identified service provider Axiom Space. Later, Isro and Axiom As per DoS: “The mission is currently targeted for launch in the Q2 2025 [calendar year] timeframe. For the present mission, National Mission Assignment Board has assigned Group Captain Shukla as prime and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair as backup.” During the 14-day mission that aims to boost commercial space activities and inspire STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) education, Shukla will conduct scientific experiments in a microgravity environment. Towards this, Isro has finalised the scientific research complement of selected experiments from various national research institutions. Nasa's Research Integration Office is supporting the implementation of these experiments for the mission. “Isro is also actively engaging with international partners in this mission for finalising the on-orbit scientific demonstrations as well as joint educational outreach programme, especially targeted towards the young student community,” DoS' latest update on the mission reads. Bryan Mitchell, mission manager of Ax-4, had told TOI in an exclusive interview that Shux (Shukla's call sign for the mission) has really exciting research where he's focused on life science. “...I'll give you two examples. One is to investigate the effects of microgravity on micrology which is really important as it could have potential future applications on uses like food, fuel and life support systems. The second experiment he's working to accomplish is to investigate the viability of six different crop seeds for future spaceflight applications ,” Mitchell had said.