A SpaceX spacecraft carrying American and Russian astronauts has been launched, beginning its journey to the International Space Station (ISS).
According to Reuters, SpaceX’s spacecraft Crew Dragon was launched at 10:53 PM on the 3rd (local time) from the Kennedy Space Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Florida, USA, aboard the Falcon 9 rocket.
The crew of four includes three American astronauts, Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Janet Epps, as well as Russian astronaut Alexander Grebenkin.
They are set to replace a team of four astronauts who previously have been on a six-month mission at the ISS.
Last August, Jasmine Moghbeli (USA), Andreas Mogensen (Denmark), Satoshi Furukawa (Japan), and Konstantin Borisov (Russia) arrived at the ISS aboard the Crew Dragon, where they have been carrying out their mission.
Following them, the Crew Dragon, carrying four astronauts set to carry out NASA’s eighth ISS mission, is expected to dock at the ISS around 3 AM on the 5th.
NASA announced that they will stay at the ISS for six months and conduct over 200 scientific experiments, including studying the changes in human body fluids during space flight, the effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation and microgravity on plant growth, and more.
They will also oversee the docking process of Boeing’s crewed Starliner next month and Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser in May-June.
NASA explained, “The research conducted at the ISS benefits humanity and paves the way for long-term space travel through NASA’s Artemis mission.”
The Artemis Project refers to a crewed lunar exploration project led by the United States, which NASA started in 2017 and officially began in 2020.
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