Axiom-4 mission (also known as Ax-4), which is carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), is finally taking off today. The mission was originally scheduled to take off on June 10, but it was delayed several times due to technical issues. The mission also marks an important moment for India as the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Shubhanshu Shukla will become the first Indian to take a spaceflight in the last 40 years. Rakesh Sharma last achieved this feat in 1984. 

Axiom-4 Mission Launch Time and Details

Both NASA and SpaceX have confirmed that the Axiom-4 mission will be launched on Wednesday at 12:01pm IST. The mission is a collaboration between Axiom Space, SpaceX, and NASA, and marks the fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS. The mission will be launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule.

The Axiom-4 mission is carrying a team of four astronauts. The commander of the mission is Peggy Whitson, Axiom’s Director of Human Spaceflight and a former NASA astronaut. Apart from her, India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, Poland’s Sławosz Uznański, and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu are the other crewmates. While Shukla is the pilot, the other two are mission specialists.

Notably, Shukla, Uznański, and Kapu are the first individuals from their respective countries to launch on a mission to the ISS. The docking is expected to take place on Thursday, June 26, at 4:30pm IST.

All systems are looking good for Wednesday’s launch of @Axiom_Space‘s Ax-4 mission to the @Space_Station and weather is 90% favorable for liftoff. Webcast starts at 12:30 a.m. ET → https://t.co/6RXoybzInV pic.twitter.com/988o685PVF

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 24, 2025

The crewmates will spend approximately two weeks on the space station. During this time, they will live and work on the orbiting lab and conduct 60 different scientific experiments. These experiments will be around human physiology, Earth observation, biology, and materials science.

Axiom-4 Launch: How to Watch Live Stream

Those interested in watching this historic moment live can do so via NASA and Axiom’s YouTube channels (here and here), or on SpaceX’s X (formerly known as Twitter) account. The webcast is currently live. The same channels will also live stream the docking process tomorrow.

NASA, the US Space agency, have just announced the delay of the Axiom Mission 4 because of operational issues and concerns. It was scheduled to be launched on June 22, 2025; however, there is a delay again. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon are at the launchpad stage at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. This mission is going to be India, Poland and Hungary’s first government-sponsored flight in 40 years and also the second human flight of the three countries in the past.

Crew Members

As per ISRO, Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kamu, the mission specialists and crew of the Commander, are set to be in quarantine in Florida, where the launch date is finalised. The crew will spend up to 14 days on the International Space Station and perform scientific experiments.

Mission Delays

This mission is going to be the first time for India in 40 years that an Indian is going to space after Rakesh Sharma. Shubhanshu Shukla is going to be the first man to step onto the ISS. There have been seven delays till now. The first launch was scheduled on May 29, but was delayed to June 8 because of the electrical harness observations. This date was later transferred to June 9. Then there occurred a delay due to weather till June 10.

After June 10, the delay occurred till June 11 because of the oxygen leak in the engine, which was anticipated by ISRO. This date again got delayed because NASA announced work with the Russian Space Agency and was evaluating a new pressure signature. The launch was scheduled on June 19, where the discussion regarding weather and health of the crew took place, and the date was again shifted to June 22.

Final Date

NASA has found a new and final date for the launch of the Axiom 4 mission. All three nations are excited, and the new date of launch is expected to arrive on June 25, 2025, at 12:01 PM IST as per a post announced on X by ISS.

A long-hidden plume of magma beneath Oman’s Salma Plateau may have played a surprising role in shaping the Indian subcontinent’s ancient journey, researchers report. This “ghost” plume — hot material trapped beneath Earth’s thick crust — cannot erupt but may have shifted the Indian tectonic plate’s course during its dramatic collision with Eurasia tens of millions of years ago. First detailed in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, the finding reveals a new class of deep mantle plumes that shape continents silently, without the typical signature of surface volcanoes.

Hidden ‘Ghost’ Plume Beneath Oman May Have Steered India’s Collision Path with Eurasia

As per a Live Science report, the plume was detected using seismic data from Oman’s dense sensor network. Under the leadership of geophysicist Simone Pilia, the group discovered that the plume altered the way sound waves moved through Earth’s layers, which in turn pointed to its presence. Unlike most mantle plumes, which rise and erupt through the oceanic plates, Dani is amagmatic and does not create surface eruptions because of the thick continental crust above the plume. This finding means that there may potentially be many hidden plumes lurking beneath continents.

The Dani plume is the first such non-eruptive plume beneath a continental plate, which is broadening scientists’ view of how mantle dynamics unfold out of sight. The researchers also calculated the movement of the Indian plate and found that it took a significant turn between 40 and 25 million years ago, which might have been affected by the shear stress created by the plume. The plume’s effects on topography are expected to be small regionally, but its geological role could be relatively large.

While plumes typically leave a visible volcanic trail—like Hawaii’s island chain—the Dani plume’s evidence may have been erased by subduction activity in the nearby Makran zone. Still, researchers say this finding opens the door to discovering more “ghost” plumes, particularly in regions with similar thick crusts, such as Africa. As seismic technologies advance, more silent subterranean forces shaping Earth’s history may come to light.