CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A historic mission to the International Space Station will be underway soon.
Three crew members from India, Hungary and Poland will fly together on Axiom Space's 14-day Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station.
What You Need To Know
- The Ax-4 mission will launch with a diverse crew from India, Hungary, and Poland, marking their return to space after more than 40 years
- More than 60 scientific experiments from 31 different countries will be conducted on the 14-day journey to the International Space Station
- A Melbourne restaurant owner, with Polish roots, is following the journey of the second Polish astronaut since 1978
Each country is returning to spaceflight after more than four decades, and it will be their first time visiting the orbiting outpost.
The Ax-4 crew consists of:
- Cmdr. Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and Director of Human Spaceflight at Axiom Space
- Indian Space Research Organization astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla
- European Space Agency astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland
- Tibor Kapu of Hungary
More than 60 experiments from 31 countries are headed the ISS on Ax-4, the most ever for a private crewed mission.
In addition to the scientific experiments the crew will conduct, the mission is a chance to foster collaboration between researchers and scientists from the different countries.
A Melbourne restaurant owner is following the mission closely due to her Polish roots.
Elebieta Bednarek owns Salt and Sweet Restaurant in Melbourne, serving authentic Polish cuisine with her husband for the past 22 years.
She plans to watch Uznański-Wiśniewski’s journey to space as just the second Polish astronaut since 1978.
“I’m very proud and very excited," Bednarek said. "A very young Polish astronaut going up to space."
The Axiom Mission 4 launch is set for June 8 at 9:11 a.m. on a SpaceX Crew Dragon from NASA Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A.
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