Expanded Crew Wraps Week with Biomedicine and Emergency Training

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick pointed a camera out a window as the station orbited above Kazakhstan capturing a wispy Milky Way pictured amongst a starry night sky.
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick pointed a camera out a window as the station orbited above Kazakhstan capturing a wispy Milky Way pictured amongst a starry night sky.

While three new crewmates get up to speed with living and working aboard the International Space Station another trio is preparing for its return to Earth. In the meantime, biomedicine and science maintenance topped the research schedule at the end of the week as the orbital residents also brushed up on their emergency response skills.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is beginning his fourth mission in space with his previous mission occurring over 12 years ago when he was an Expedition 31 Flight Engineer. He spent Friday continuing to get familiar with orbital operations and lab systems as he settles in for a six-and-a-half-month mission planned to end in spring 2025.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, who launched to the orbital outpost with Pettit on Sept. 11, started Friday unpacking cargo from the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft. Afterward, the experienced cosmonaut duo attached sensors to themselves monitoring how blood flows throughout their body in weightlessness.

At the same time, station Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Nikolai Chub are preparing to depart the orbiting lab in less than two weeks. The homebound trio first joined each other early Friday checking the pressure suits they will wear as they descend to a parachuted landing on Earth inside the Soyuz MS-25 crew ship. Kononenko and Chub also tested the lower body negative pressure suit that may help crews counteract the effects of living in space and adjust quicker to the return to Earth’s gravity setting.

Dyson joined fellow NASA astronaut Mike Barratt studying how blood and cerebrospinal fluids travel toward the head creating eye pressure in microgravity. Dyson later participated in standard medical checks measuring her own temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate. Barratt also partnered with NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick taking turns exercising on an exercise cycle while wearing sensors and breathing gear measuring their cardiorespiratory rate and capacity.

Dyson also took charge as crew medical officer and scanned the eyes of NASA Flight Engineers Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams with the Ultrasound 2 device. Ground surgeons monitored the ultrasound imaging in real time to understand how microgravity affects a crew member’s cornea, lens, and optic nerve. Wilmore and Williams also called down to mission managers to familiarize themselves with the upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps worked throughout the day swapping gas bottles that supply argon, helium, and carbon dioxide to variety of experiment racks in the Kibo laboratory module. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin photographed cell samples during his shift for a space biology investigation.

All 12 space station residents joined each other after their lunchtime and reviewed their roles and responsibilities in the event of unlikely emergency scenarios such as a fire, or a chemical or pressure leak. The dozen crewmates also reviewed procedures to regain control of the orbital outpost during an emergency situation.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Enters Quarantine Ahead of Launch

Photo shows NASA, SpaceX Crew-9 members from right to left, Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov
From right to left, NASA SpaceX Crew-9 members Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, pose for an official crew portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Photo Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarel

Members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission will spend the next two weeks in routine preflight quarantine at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston ahead of their mission to the International Space Station.

NASA and SpaceX have shifted the Crew-9 launch to no earlier than Wednesday, Sept. 25, to complete prelaunch preparations and ensure separation between operations. Liftoff is targeted for 2:28 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft named Freedom. This is the first time a human spaceflight mission will launch from the pad. Additional launch opportunities are available on Thursday, Sept. 26, Friday, Sept. 27, and Saturday, Sept. 28.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, will remain in isolation to prevent exposure to any illnesses before they join the Expedition 72 crew at the space station. As part of the Crew-9 crew, Hague and Gorbunov will join NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived to the space station in June.

Hague and Gorbunov are set to arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Sept. 20, where the pair will remain in quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building until launch.

Crew-9 is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew will spend approximately five months at the orbiting laboratory conducting spacewalks, research demonstrations, and experiments before returning in February 2025.

More details about the launch will be posted on the mission blog, @commercial_crew on X, or commercial crew on Facebook.

Station Crew Expands to 12 as New Arrivals Work Half-Day

Six Expedition 71 crew members pose for a portrait inside the Rassvet module moments before three Soyuz MS-26 crew members enter the space station.
Six Expedition 71 crew members pose for a portrait inside the Rassvet module moments before three Soyuz MS-26 crew members enter the space station.

Three new crewmates joined the International Space Station crew on Wednesday after a three-hour ride that began at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with a launch aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft. The new trio including NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner will live and work aboard the orbital outpost until spring 2025.

Following their arrival, the three new space residents entered the Rassvet module’s Earth-facing port and were greeted by the nine Expedition 71 crewmates expanding the orbiting lab’s crew to 12. Next, family members and teams on the ground called up to the space station and congratulated Pettit, Ovchinin, and Wagner as their mission got underway. Finally, the new trio was given a standard station safety orientation before deactivating their Soyuz crew ship, unloading cargo, and going to bed.

On Thursday, their first full day in low-Earth orbit, Pettit, Ovchinin, and Wagner woke up late and worked a half-day. Pettit began his afternoon shift getting familiar with space station systems with assistance from NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick. Pettit was last aboard the space station in 2012 as an Expedition 31 Flight Engineer when the new SpaceX Dragon cargo craft visited the orbital outpost for the first time on a test mission in May of that year. Ovchinin and Wagner continued unpacking cargo packed inside the Soyuz before attaching sensors to themselves monitoring how their circulatory system is adapting to weightlessness.

The six NASA astronauts who have been aboard the space station for a few months had a full day on Thursday studying how plants grow in microgravity, conducting eye exams, and maintaining orbital plumbing systems.

NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps and Mike Barratt harvested plants growing inside the Columbus laboratory module’s Veggie space botany facility throughout the day. The space-grown samples of two types of grasses were then placed inside a science freezer for future analysis back on Earth. Researchers are seeking to understand how space affects photosynthesis and plant metabolism possibly supporting the development of bioregenerative life support systems.

Barratt also peered into the eyes of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams using standard medical imaging gear as ground personnel monitored in real-time. Some astronauts have reported vision issues so doctors continuously monitor the crew’s optic nerve, retina, cornea, and more to maintain crew health and ensure successful long-term space missions.

Earlier, Williams swapped out combustion research hardware in the Kibo laboratory module and worked on cargo transfers inside the Cygnus space freighter that has been attached to the station since Aug. 6. Wilmore checked out power supply components in Columbus then visually analyzed incubation bags containing microbe samples collected for analysis.

NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson joined Dominick during Thursday servicing the space station’s restroom in Tranquility module, also known as the waste and hygiene compartment. The duo removed advanced plumbing components to access and troubleshoot the toilet’s electrical power system.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin also slept in on Thursday following their late-night support of the Soyuz MS-26 crew arrival. The trio spent the afternoon working on electrical and life support maintenance while also assisting their new crewmates.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Soyuz Hatches Open, Expedition 71 Welcomes Trio Aboard Station

The Soyuz MS-26 crew joins the Expedition 71 crew in orbit aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
The Soyuz MS-26 trio joins the Expedition 71 crew in orbit aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

The hatch between the International Space Station and the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft opened at 5:58 p.m. EDT.

The spacecraft arrived at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module at 3:32 p.m. Sept. 11, after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) with NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.

The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the spring of 2025.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA Coverage Underway of Soyuz Hatch Opening

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen approaching the station ahead of docking at 3:32 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen approaching the station ahead of docking at 3:32 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA

NASA’s live hatch opening coverage is underway on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms including social media. Hatch opening is scheduled to begin at 5:50 p.m. EDT.

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft arrived at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module at 3:32 p.m. Sept. 11, after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) with NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.

The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the spring of 2025.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Soyuz Spacecraft Docks to Station With Three Crew Members Aboard

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen approaching the station ahead of docking at 3:32 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen approaching the station ahead of docking at 3:32 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA

At 3:32 p.m. EDT, the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft arrived at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module as the International Space Station was flying 262 miles over central Ukraine. NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner launched at 12:23 p.m. Sept. 11 (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

NASA’s coverage of hatch opening will stream at 5:30 p.m. on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms including social media. Hatch opening is scheduled to begin at 5:50 p.m. EDT.

Once aboard, the trio will join Expedition 71 crew members including NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko, and spend approximately six months at the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the spring of 2025.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Three Crew Members Arriving to Station Soon on NASA+

The Soyuz MS-25 crew ship approaches the International Space Station 262 miles above the Croatian coast on the Adriatic Sea.
The Soyuz MS-25 crew ship approaches the International Space Station 262 miles above the Croatian coast on the Adriatic Sea.

NASA’s live coverage of rendezvous and docking is now underway on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms including social media.

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. EDT (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The spacecraft will automatically dock at 3:33 p.m. at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Crewed Soyuz Spacecraft Launches, Trio Headed to Space Station

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 11. Credit: NASA
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 11. Credit: NASA

The crewed Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following a launch at 12:23 p.m. EDT Sept. 11 (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) with NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.

After a two-orbit, three-hour trajectory to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module at 3:33 p.m. NASA’s coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 2:30 p.m. on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms including social media. The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the spring of 2025.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Three Crew Members Nearing Launch to Station Live on NASA+

The Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station with (pictured left to right) NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.Credit: Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center
The Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station with (pictured left to right) NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.
Credit: Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

NASA’s live launch coverage is underway on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms including social media.

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. EDT (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.

After a two-orbit, three-hour trajectory to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module at 3:33 p.m. NASA’s coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 2:30 p.m. on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

Once aboard, the trio will join Expedition 71 crew members including NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko, and spend approximately six months at the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the spring of 2025.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Tuesday Sees Human Research and Space Biology Ahead of Crew Arrival

The Soyuz rocket is seen after being rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Soyuz rocket is seen after being rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Human research activities and space biology kept the International Space Station residents busy on Tuesday as they prepare for the arrival of three new crewmates who are set to lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, will launch aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft at 12:23 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 11. Following launch, the trio will take a short ride to the station and dock at 3:33 p.m. to the Rassvet module before opening the hatches and joining the Expedition 71 crew in orbit, where they’ll spend approximately six months living and working in space.

Aboard the orbiting lab, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick completed some cable and power reconfigurations in the Columbus laboratory module, then finalized hardware preps for human research activities that took place throughout the day.

Dominick was joined by NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps, and in coordination with remote ground teams, spent the day using ultrasound and tomography hardware to collect Epps’ blood pressure data and view her optic nerve, retina, and cornea. Epps then donned thigh cuffs through the remainder of the day to test how they could be used to possibly reverse space-induced headward fluid shifts in astronauts.

In the Japanese Experiment Module, NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson set up the Confocal Space Microscope, configured its lenses, and inserted samples for analysis. She then completed some medical training before ending the day swapping the gloves, sleeves, and media bag in the Life Science Glovebox.

NASA astronaut Mike Barratt set his sights to prepping for future space botany investigations throughout the day. He charged the Multispeq tool, which is used to capture plant data for the APEX-09 investigation, then updated the software that logs and manages the data.

A suite of activities topped NASA astronaut Suni Williams’ schedule on Tuesday as she replaced hardware on the Packed Bed Retractor Experiment, completed some orbital plumbing, and prepped for upcoming crew arrivals. Her NASA crewmate, Butch Wilmore, collected water samples from the potable water dispenser and later analyzed them for microbial growth. Wilmore also powered on the KERMIT microscope, swapped the lens, and installed new slides. In the evening, the duo held a conference with SpaceX ground teams.

Current station Commander Oleg Kononenko swabbed various surfaces throughout the orbital complex to assess for microbial growth in microgravity. He then spent the rest of the day packing items for return on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft, which is due to bring him, along with Dyson, and cosmonaut Nikolai Chub, home in late September.

Chub spent the day packing items for departure then took some time to observe the glow of Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet and collect condensate samples from the water recovery system. His Roscosmos crewmate, Alexander Grebenkin, spent a majority of the day on orbital plumbing tasks, including replacing hoses and running a distillation cycle on the water processing unit.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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