Read, Watch or Listen

Indian Air Force pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will become only the second Indian to journey into space, aboard Axiom Mission 4 launching Wednesday. He'll be joined by astronauts from Poland and Hungary, conducting 60 scientific experiments, including seven by ISRO. Shukla is taking Indian sweets and a toy swan, 'Joy,' serving as a zero-gravity indicator, symbolizing wisdom and purity across cultures. The mission, a collaboration between NASA, ISRO, and ESA, uses a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule and will last two weeks.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.