Posted at: Jul 24 2025 5:31PM After successful return of Indian-led AX-4 crew, ISS preps for Crew Swap, continues Space Health Studies Chennai, July 24 (UNI) After the successful splashdown of the four-member A-4 Mission, piloted by decorated Indian pilot Shubhanshu Shukla after a 18-day stay the orbiting lab, NASA has commenced final preparations on ground for crew swap in early August at the International Space Station (ISS). In an update, NASA today said it was also continuing space health studies as four members of Expedition 73 are ready to unpack and return to earth, while another four-member are gearing up to replace them at ISS. The Ax-4 crew comprising astronauts from India, US, Hungary and Poland took off to ISS on June 25 onboard a falcon rocket from Florida, docked at the ISS the next day after a 28 hr flight journey, stayed in the Orbiting lab for 18 days and conducted nearly 60 experiments, including seven microgravity studies by Indian astronaut, who returned with a wealth of information. The Ax-4 undocked from ISS on July 14 and the dragon spacecraft splashed down off California coast the next day successfully, marking culmination of a historic mission that saw Shukla becoming the second Indian to travel to space after 41 years when Rakesh Sharma flew in 1984. Shukla, who carried the hopes and dreams of billions of people, created history by becoming the first Indian to travel to ISS. Meanwhile, NASA said it was reading for crew swap at the ISS which is likely to happen in the first week of August. The Expedition 73 crew is preparing to split up in early August while another crew on the ground is beginning final preparations for a launch to the International Space Station next week. Meanwhile, the orbital residents continue their human research activities, space exercise studies, and lab maintenance duties today. NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain kicked off her shift packing personal items and cargo inside the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft she will ride back to Earth with Nichole Ayers of NASA, Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos. The four crewmates representing NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission have been gathering crew provisions for a couple of weeks for loading aboard Dragon preparing to end a space research mission that began on March 14. Waiting on Earth to replace Crew-10 is NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission with Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Mike Fincke, both from NASA, and Mission Specialists Kimiya Yui of JAXA and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos. The Commercial Crew quartet is due to depart NASA’s Johnson Space Center on Saturday and arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to begin their countdown to a launch inside Dragon atop the Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT (2139 hrs IST) on Thursday, July 31. MORE UNI GV 1715 24 Jul 2025 | 10:12 PM Hyderabad, July 24 (UNI) In a landmark moment for India’s biotechnology sector, Hyderabad-based biotech startup Tulsi Therapeutics, which focused on regenerative medicine using stem cells and exosomes, and ASPIRE-BioNEST, University of Hyderabad (UoH), today announced the world’s first successful animal trial of a novel stem cell–exosome combination therapy for chronic liver failure.