
NASA and its international partners have announced the crew for Axiom Space’s fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It will launch from the Kennedy Space Center no earlier than autumn 2025.
Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission. ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
“I am excited to see continued interest and dedication for the private astronaut missions aboard the International Space Station,” said NASA’s ISS Program Manager Dana Weigel. “As NASA looks toward the future of low Earth orbit, private astronaut missions help pave the way and expand access to the unique microgravity environment.”
The Axiom Mission 4 crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and travel to the space station. Once docked, the private astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting a mission comprising science, outreach, and commercial activities. The mission will send the first ISRO astronaut to the station as part of a joint effort between NASA and the Indian space agency. The private mission also carries the first astronauts from Poland and Hungary to stay aboard the space station.
The first private astronaut mission to the station, Axiom Mission 1, lifted off in April 2022 for a 17-day mission aboard the orbiting laboratory. The second private astronaut mission to the station, Axiom Mission 2, was also commanded by Whitson and launched in May 2023 with four private astronauts who spent eight days in orbit. The most recent private astronaut mission, Axiom Mission 3, launched in January 2024; the crew spent 18 days docked to the space station.
For more than 24 years, NASA has supported a continuous human presence aboard the ISS, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods.
The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy. NASA’s goal is to achieve a strong economy in low Earth orbit where the agency can purchase services as one of many customers to meet its science and research objectives in microgravity. NASA’s commercial strategy for low Earth orbit will provide the government with reliable and safe services at a lower cost, enabling the agency to focus on Artemis missions to the Moon in preparation for Mars while also continuing to use low Earth orbit as a training and proving ground for those deep space missions.