Axiom Space Ax-4 Mission & Expedition 73 Crew Photos | International Space Station

Axiom Space Ax-4 Mission & Expedition 73 Crew Photos | International Space Station

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) astronaut and Axiom Mission 4 Mission Specialist/Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla poses for a portrait aboard the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module during a space-to-ground conference with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim (back to camera) joins Axiom Mission 4 crew members (clockwise from top left) Tibor Kapu from Hungary, Peggy Whitson from the U.S., and Shubhanshu Shukla from India (ISRO) for lunch inside the galley of the International Space Station's Unity module.

Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) Commander and veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson assists Ax-4 Mission Specialist Shubhanshu Shukla from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) during his research work inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. Shukla was using Kibo's Life Science Glovebox studying how to improve muscle regeneration in microgravity and maintain a crew member's muscle health during spaceflight.

Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim from NASA and Axiom Mission 4 Commander Peggy Whitson work together inside the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module setting up research hardware to culture patient-derived cancer cells, model their growth in microgravity, and test a state-of-the-art fluorescence microscope. Results may lead to earlier cancer detection methods, development of advanced cancer treatments, and promote future stem cell research in space.

Expedition 73 & Ax-4 crew members share a meal together

Expedition 73 & Ax-4 crews share a meal together

Expedition 73 & Ax-4 crews share a meal together

Expedition 73 & Ax-4 crews share a meal together

Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim: "One of the most unforgettable evenings I’ve experienced on this mission was sharing a meal with new friends, Ax-4, aboard the International Space Station." 

"We swapped stories and marveled at how people from diverse backgrounds and nations came together to represent humanity in space."

"For appetizers, we made rehydrated shrimp cocktails and crackers. Our main course featured savory chicken and beef fajitas, and the cosmonauts capped the night with a delicious cake made from sweet bread, condensed milk, and walnuts."

Mission managers have given the “go” for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and undock from the International Space Station’s space-facing port on the Harmony module at 7:05 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 14. Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson will lead Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Tibor Kapu back to Earth completing a two-and-a-half-week research mission aboard the orbiting lab.

The Ax-4 Mission “realizes the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history, this was the first time all three nations have had a mission aboard the International Space Station.

Learn more about Ax-4: 
https://www.axiomspace.com/missions/ax4

Follow Expedition 73:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credits: NASA/JSC/J. Kim
Release Dates: July 10-12, 2025

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