The crew of the Axiom-4 mission will have to spend a few more days on the International Space Station. ESA said that due to bad weather and technical problems of the ISS, the crew's return will not happen before July 14. The crew will return to Earth aboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule 'Grace'. NASA and Roscosmos are making efforts to ensure the safety of the ISS.

After spending 14 days on the International Space Station, the crew of the Axiom-4 mission will now have to stay away from Earth for a few more days. The European Space Agency (ESA) has clarified that the return of mission commander Peggy Whitson, mission pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and mission specialists Slavosh Ujnanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu to Earth will not happen before July 14.

This crew has been conducting scientific experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) since June 27 and as per the plan, the return was to be after 14 days i.e. on July 10. But bad weather and technical problems of the ISS made this wait a little longer. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has not yet made any official statement on the return date.

The return is being postponed due to weather and technical challenges

The crew of Axiom-4 will return to Earth aboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule 'Grace'. This capsule will soft splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Florida. But if there are weather problems like strong winds, rain or storm in the area, then the splashdown has to be postponed. ESA and NASA said that due to bad weather, the return may be postponed till July 14.

Apart from this, a problem of air leakage (pressure leak) was recently reported in the Russian Zvezda module of the ISS. NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos repaired it, but even after the repair, a new sign of air leak was found. More time is needed to investigate this, due to which the return of Axiom-4 is getting delayed.

The ISS is a closed environment, so the complete safety of the station must be ensured before adding any new crew or bringing back existing crew.

Why is the re-entry process important?

The return of the Dragon capsule to Earth, i.e. re-entry, is a complex process. First, the capsule has to be undocked from the ISS. After this, it enters the Earth's atmosphere from space, where it faces temperatures of thousands of degrees. The heat shield of the capsule protects it from burning.

Then with the help of a parachute it makes a soft landing in the sea. Weather plays a very important role in this entire process. If there are strong waves or a storm in the sea, landing can be risky. For this, NASA also has to wait for the exact launch window.

The launch window means the exact time when the orbit of the ISS and the Dragon capsule will be in perfect sync with each other. If this time is missed due to weather or technical reasons, then the next launch window has to be waited for. This window may be available only after a few hours or after a few days, due to which the return may be delayed.

PC: Jagran