Vande Hei likewise offered biological samples for an examination that gathers a core set of measurements, called Spaceflight Standard Measures. Wrist-worn sensors that measure activity levels and light exposure can assist researchers much better comprehend the sleep-wake cycle of astronauts. Blood and saliva samples gathered by crew members throughout their objective can likewise assist researchers assess changes in different hormonal agents, proteins, and cells that expose how the immune system modifications in area.
The Soyuz MS-19 crew ship approaches the International Space Station for a docking on October 5, 2021. Credit: NASA
NASA Television coverage of astronaut Mark Vande Hei and two Roscosmos cosmonauts end of objective aboard the International Space Station and go back to Earth is underway.
Vande Hei, together with Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, started the journey back to Earth in the morning hours on the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft. The Soyuz spacecraft undocked from the Rassvet module at 3:21 a.m. EDT and is heading for a parachute-assisted landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, at 7:28 a.m. EDT (5:28 p.m. Kazakhstan time).
While clocking the single longest spaceflight by a NASA astronaut, Vande Hei contributed to lots of research studies from the hundreds carried out throughout his objective, consisting of six science investigations supported by NASAs Human Research Program, or HRP.
For one investigation, Vande Hei helped grow and assess veggies gathered with the space stations Vegetable Production System, or Veggie. The examination seeks to establish a food production system that can help astronauts fulfill their dietary needs with fresh vegetables cultivated in area.
Vande Hei also offered biological samples for an investigation that collects a core set of measurements, called Spaceflight Standard Measures. The examination seeks to identify “normal” changes in the body during spaceflight. Wrist-worn sensors that step activity levels and light exposure can assist researchers better understand the sleep-wake cycle of astronauts. Blood and saliva samples gathered by crew members throughout their mission can also assist researchers examine changes in numerous hormonal agents, proteins, and cells that expose how the immune system changes in area.
In addition, he contributed to a separate examination gathering biological samples from the crew aboard the space station and positioning them in a storage bank. Researchers can bring into play the samples to study spaceflight-induced changes in human physiology.
Exploration 67 officially began aboard the station after undocking, with new station Commander Tom Marshburn, NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov.
After landing, the Soyuz MS-19 team will divide up, based on standard crew return practice, with Vande Hei going back to his house in Houston, while the cosmonauts fly back to their training base in Star City, Russia.