India, April 21 -- Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will conduct at least seven experiments, including growing crops and studying water bears in space, during his 14-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS) next month.

Shukla, along with other astronauts from the US, Hungary and Poland, will be part of the Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4), as a result of a collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Shubhanshu Shukla will be India's second astronaut to go to space since 1984.

Among the different Ax-4 experiments, one will examine the revival, survival and reproduction of "water bears" or tardigrades on the Internal Space Station.

These are tiny creatures which have b...