Eleven crew members from five countries are living and working together on the orbital station as two of its crews are in the middle of switching locations. New station flight engineers Jasmin Moghbeli and Andreas Mogensen, of NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) respectively, continued unloading the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft throughout the day. In the afternoon, the duo signed up with NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio, who has been aboard the station for almost a year, and examined station procedures, systems, and operations.
Two Expedition 69 team members pose for a picture in the International Space Stations Unity module throughout the always popular pizza night. The longest-serving team aboard the station has actually been orbiting Earth considering that September 21, 2022.
Cyclone Idalia is pictured in the Gulf of Mexico as the International Space Station orbited 261 miles above on August 29, 2023. Credit: NASA
Aboard the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, 4 brand-new team members are acclimating to their first week orbiting Earth. Meanwhile, another quartet of Expedition 69 flight engineers is preparing to end their six-month remain in area.
New Crew Familiarization
Eleven team members from five countries are living and interacting on the orbital outpost as 2 of its teams remain in the middle of switching places. New station flight engineers Jasmin Moghbeli and Andreas Mogensen, of NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) respectively, continued unloading the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft throughout the day. In the afternoon, the duo joined NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio, who has actually been aboard the station for almost a year, and examined station procedures, operations, and systems.
The remaining brand-new flight engineers, Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos, also continued acquainting themselves with life in weightlessness. The set is discovering how to make meals, exercise on the exercise centers, sleep in the team quarters, and use the stations restroom, also known as the waste and hygiene compartment.
Two Expedition 69 crew members posture for a portrait in the International Space Stations Unity module during the constantly popular pizza night. From left are, Flight Engineers Frank Rubio from NASA and Sultan Alneyadi from UAE (United Arab Emirates). Credit: NASA
Preparations for Earth Return
The station team will drop back to 7 members no earlier than September 2 when the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour is because of return four flight engineers, who have been in area given that March, back to Earth. NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen will command Endeavour leading NASA Pilot Woody Hoburg and Mission Specialists Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos to a splashdown off the coast of Florida.
The Earth-bound foursome has actually been handing over its responsibilities to the newly arrived team while getting ready for the go back to Earths gravity environment. The four team mates this week have been loading Endeavour, evaluating deorbit and splashdown procedures, and speaking to NASA and SpaceX ground support workers.
Animation of Astrobees on the space station. Credit: NASA
Research and Long-Term Crew Activities
Regardless of their approaching departure, Bowen and Hoburg still had time on Wednesday for continuous research activities. Bowen rounded up science hardware for an approaching space biology experiment. Hoburg checked and activated an Astrobee free-flying robotic assistant as engineers on the ground monitored its efficiency.
The longest-serving crew aboard the station has actually been orbiting Earth given that September 21, 2022. Rubio together with Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin are assisting with the team swap activities. The trio from NASA and Roscosmos has actually likewise worked on freight activities, space science, and standard health checks this week.