India to conduct its first ever biological experiments aboard ISS to study sustainability of life in space

The experiments will be conducted as part of the upcoming ISS mission AXIOM-4, which includes Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as a crew member.

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is a crew member of the upcoming ISS mission (Photo| Wikimedia Commons)

NEW DELHI: India is set to undertake its first-ever biological experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Announcing this on Thursday, Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh said the experiments would “study the sustainability of life in space as an important initiative under the BioE3 Biotechnology policy launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

Dr Singh said these unique experiments, spearheaded by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), will be conducted as part of the upcoming ISS mission AXIOM-4, which includes Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as a crew member.

He said the first experiment aboard the ISS would examine the impact of microgravity and space radiation on the growth of edible microalgae. “This project is a joint initiative of ISRO, NASA and DBT with an aim to analyse key growth parameters and changes in transcriptomes, proteomes and metabolomes of different algal species in space as compared to Earth-based controls,” he said.

He also added that the second experiment at the ISS would study the growth and proteomic responses of cyanobacteria such as Spirulina and Synechococcus under microgravity conditions, using urea and nitrate-based media.

Dr Singh noted that the experiments are also aimed at exploring Spirulina as a superfood in space due to its high protein and vitamin content. He said the experiments have been developed in association with scientists from the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi.

He further explained that the BioE3 initiative—Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment—was a policy approved by the Union Cabinet in 2024, intended to accelerate high-performance biomanufacturing.