Ax-1 Slated For Launch On April 8. All About The First All-Private Astronaut Mission To The Space Station

The Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) will be the first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX will launch three paying passengers and a retired NASA astronaut into space.

Axiom Mission 1 Crew | Photo: Axiom Space

New Delhi: Houston-based aerospace firm Axiom Space and its crew are all set to make history this week. 

The Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) will be the first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It is scheduled for launch on Friday, April 8, at 11:17 am EDT (8:47 pm IST). 

Mission Overview

SpaceX will launch three paying passengers and a retired NASA astronaut into space as part of the Axiom Mission 1.

The four-person crew will blast off into space aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, atop a Falcon 9 rocket, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

The Ax-1 crew consists of former NASA astronaut and Axiom vice president Michael López-Alegría; American entrepreneur and non-profit activist investor Larry Connor; Canadian investor and philanthropist Mark Pathy; and impact investor and philanthropist Eytan Stibbe of Israel. 

López-Alegría will serve as mission commander, Connor will be the mission pilot, while Pathy and Stibbe will serve as mission specialists during the 10-day mission.

The four space travellers aim to distinguish themselves as much as possible from space tourists by performing research activities and philanthropic projects on the space station.

Who Are The Crewmembers?

The four-person crew will stay aboard the US segment of the orbital laboratory for approximately eight days. Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will serve as Ax-1's backup commander. American racing driver John Shoffner will serve as the backup mission pilot. 

ALSO on ABP Live: In PICS | Meet Four-Member Crew Of Ax-1, First All-Private Astronaut Mission To Space Station

Michael López-Alegría

López-Alegría is the chief astronaut for Axiom Space. He has had a record setting career at NASA for 20 years, flying to space four times. He last visited the space station in 2007. 

The former NASA astronaut has flown on Space Shuttle missions STS-73, STS-92, and STS-113. He served as the commander of ISS Expedition 14. López-Alegría and flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin dlaunched to the orbital laboratory from Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 18, 2006, as part of the Soyuz TMA-9 mission, launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle. He holds a record for 10 extravehicular activities (EVAs) or spacewalks, the highest for a NASA astronaut. He also holds a NASA record for the highest cumulative EVA time, which is 67 hours and 40 minutes.  He was inducted to the US Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2021.

López-Alegría is set to create history as the first person to ever command both a civil and a commercial human spaceflight mission. 

Quoting López-Alegría, a statement issued by Axiom Space said that this collection of pioneers — the first space crew of its kind — represents a defining moment in humanity's eternal pursuit of exploration and progress. 

He said he knows from firsthand experience that what humans encounter in space is profound and propels them to make more meaningful contributions on returning to Earth. 

"I look forward to leading this crew and to their next meaningful and productive contributions to human history, both on orbit and back home," López-Alegría said.

Larry Connor

Connor is the founder and managing director of The Connor Group, a real estate investment firm he grew from $0 to $3.5 billion in assets, and is also the founder of two technology companies. Connor's non-profit endeavours include The Connor Group Kids & Community Partners, which invests in programs that pull children out of generational poverty, and The Greater Dayton School, which is Ohio's first private non-religious school exclusively for under-resourced students.

Through Ax-1, Connor will become the first private pilot to reach the space station and the first human to reach the deepest ocean depths and other space within one year, Axiom Space said on its website.

Mark Pathy

Pathy is currently the chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of Montreal-based MAVRIK, a privately-owned investment and financing company founded by him. The company focused on innovation and social impact. He is also a member of the boards and executive committees of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation, Dans La Rue, and the Pathy Family Foundation.

Through the Ax-1 mission, Pathy will become Canada's second private astronaut, and the 12th Canadian to travel to space.

Eytan Stibbe

Stibbe, who is an impact investor and philanthropist, will travel to the space station under the "Rakia" banner and the maxim "There is no dream beyond reach" which magnificently captures the spirit of the mission. Rakia is a biblical term that designates the creation of the sky. 

Stibbe will facilitate scientific experiments, educational research, and artistic activities during the mission. Rakia, which is a mission that completely embraces peace, innovation, and social responsibility, will allow Stibbe a unique opportunity to foster his life-long interest in exploration and development, according to Axiom Space.

Stibbe is a close personal friend of Columbian astronaut Ilan Ramon, and a former Israeli Air Force pilot. Ramon was selected as payload specialist by NASA in 1997. He served as a Space Shuttle payload specialist of STS-107, the fatal mission of Columbia, in which he and six other crew members perished when the spacecraft disintegrated during re-entry. Stibbe co-created the Ramon foundation in honour of his friend. 

He will be Israel's second astronaut to reach space. 

Research Projects To Be Carried Out By Ax-1 Crew

The four crewmembers will conduct more than 25 different experiments aboard the space station. By conducting these experiments, the crew will collect data which could improve the understanding of human physiology on Earth and in orbit. Also, the findings will establish the utility of novel technologies that could be used for future human spaceflight activities.

Axiom Mission 1 investigations include TESSERAE, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, JAMSS Photocatalyst, among others.

TESSERAE

TESSERAE, which stands for Tessellated Electromagnetic Space Structures for the Exploration of Reconfigurable, Adaptive Environments), is a multi-year research program exploring self-assembly methods for in-space construction. The modular TESSERAE tiles can join to create a larger structure, prototypes of which are launching on the Ax-1 mission. These include an extensive suite of sensing magnets that monitor diagnostics.

Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine 

Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine is an investigation which will use a human cancer stem cell nano bioreactor model (a vessel that accelerates cell growth conditions) and cancer stem cell reporter system and will leverage the accelerated ageing aspects of the microgravity environment to evaluate early pre-cancer and cancer changes in tumour organoids. 

JAMSS Photocatalyst

The Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation (JAMSS) Photocatalyst air purification device will launch on Ax-1 for a technical demonstration to verify the performance of the improved filter, and will also deploy a control device without photocatalytic LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes), to evaluate the filter. 

The JAMSS device has an improved air filter, and will be able to clean the air on the space station and remove cabin odour, with the goal of improving the quality of life for those living and working in space.

Biomedical Research

The Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) is conducting biomedical research on each of the Ax-1 crewmembers both before the launch and after their return to Earth, as part of which a variety of data, including physiological data will be collected, and cognitive, balance, perception, and visual acuity tests will be performed.

Christian Maender, director of In-space Manufacturing and Research for Axiom Space, said in a press release that the collection of biological and technological tests during the Ax-1 mission represent a breadth of research that will inform everything from human health considerations to novel infrastructure and design for our future homes away from Earth, beginning with Axiom Station. 

Ax-1 is the first of Axiom Space's "precursor" private astronaut missions to the space station. 

Crew-Supported Research

Connor, Stibbe, and Pathy have also partnered directly with research organisations in their regions on a range of human health and technology investigations, from ageing and chronic pain, to the first in-space demonstration of two-way holoportation, which is a mixed reality application using special lenses to project images via a hologram.

Connor has collaborated with Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic on research projects.

Pathy has collaborated with the Canadian Space Agency as well as the Montreal Children's Hospital.

Stibbe intends to perform scientific experiments co-ordinated by the Ramon Foundation and the Israel Space Agency, and to undertake educational activities from orbit to inspire Israeli children, youth, and educators.

What Is Next For Axiom Space?

Axiom Space's second all-private astronaut mission, called Axiom Mission 2 or Ax-2, is targeted for launch between fall 2022 and late spring 2023. Peggy Whitson and John Shoffner have been confirmed for the mission, with Shoffner serving as the pilot. Once the crew docks into the ISS, they will stay aboard the orbital outpost for a maximum of 14 days. 

The Houston-based aerospace firm is simultaneously constructing its own privately funded space station, called Axiom Station.