Russian, Japanese Visitors Leave Station and Head Home
The Soyuz MS-20 crew ship with cosmoanut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yozo Hirano and Yusaku Maezawa backs away from the station.
The Soyuz spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station at 6:50 p.m. EST, carrying three people back to Earth. Live coverage on NASA TV, the agency’s website, and the NASA app will resume at 9 p.m. for the deorbit burn and landing of the spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin along with spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano. Landing in Kazakhstan is scheduled for 10:13 p.m. (9:13 a.m. Monday, Dec. 20, Kazakhstan time).
Remaining aboard the orbiting outpost are Expedition 66 commander and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer.
NASA TV Covers Visiting Trio Undocking in Soyuz Crew Ship
The Soyuz MS-20 crew ship, carrying cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano, approaches the station on Dec. 8, 2021.
NASA is providing live coverage on NASA TV, the agency’s website, and the NASA app of the undocking and departure from the International Space Station of the Soyuz spacecraft that will return Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin along with spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano to Earth.
The Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft will undock from the station’s Poisk module at 6:50 p.m. EST and make a deorbit burn at 9:18 p.m. Live coverage of the deorbit burn and landing will begin at 9 p.m. The spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted landing at 10:13 p.m. (9:13 a.m. Monday, Dec. 20, Kazakhstan time) on the steppe of Kazakhstan.
Visiting Trio Says Farewell to Station Crew Before Undocking
Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano wave goodbye before closing the Soyuz vehicle’s hatch. Credit: NASA TV
NASA will provide live coverage as Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin along with spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano begin their to return to Earth from the International Space Station.
The trio, concluding a nearly 12-day mission, has bid farewell to the Expedition 66 crew and closed the hatch to their Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft around 2:20 p.m. EST.
They will undock from the station’s Poisk module at 6:50 p.m., heading for a parachute-assisted landing at 10:13 p.m. (9:13 a.m. Monday, Dec. 20, Kazakhstan time) on the steppe of Kazakhstan.
Live coverage on NASA TV, the agency’s website, and the NASA app will begin at 6:30 p.m. for undocking, with coverage of the Soyuz deorbit burn and landing beginning at 9 p.m.
Crew Ramps Up for Visitors’ Departure and U.S. Cargo Mission
The three-person Soyuz MS-20 crew (front row) participates in a group portrait with the seven-member Expedition 66 crew.
Next week will see a U.S. resupply ship launch toward the International Space Station following Sunday’s departure of three orbiting lab visitors. Meanwhile, the seven Expedition 66 crewmates continued their space biology and physics research while maintaining station systems.
SpaceX is due to launch its Cargo Dragon spacecraft from Florida on Tuesday at 5:06 a.m. EST to replenish the station crew. It will automatically dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port on Wednesday at 4:30 a.m. delivering about 6,500 pounds of new science experiments, crew supplies and station hardware. NASA TV will cover both events live on the agency’s website, and the NASA app.
NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Thomas Marshburn are training for the U.S. cargo mission. The duo reviewed Cargo Dragon’s approach and rendezvous profile and got familiarized with docked operations. Both flight engineers will be on duty Wednesday morning monitoring the commercial craft’s automated arrival and docking.
Three space travelers are nearing the end of their 11-day mission as they prepare to return to Earth this weekend. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin has been staging gear to be packed inside the Soyuz MS-20 crew ship and checking components inside the Russian spacecraft. He’ll lead Japanese spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano back home when the spacecraft undocks on Sunday at 6:50 p.m. and parachutes to a landing in Kazakhstan at 10:18 p.m. NASA TV coverage begins at 3 p.m. when the departing trio says farewell to the station crew and closes the Soyuz vehicle’s hatch.
Human research is ongoing in space as Flight Engineers Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer began Friday with blood and saliva collections and stowed the samples in a science freezer for future analysis. Barron of NASA then spent the afternoon inspecting personal protective equipment. Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) swapped samples for a wet foams study then configured components that support the EasyMotion space exercise suit.
NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei continued more runs today of the InSPACE-4 manufacturing study learning how to manipulate nanoparticles in weightlessness. Vande Hei then wrapped up his day early following a busy week of space physics research taking place inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox .
The two Expedition 66 cosmonauts, Commander Anton Shkaplerov and Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov, started the day attaching sensors to their hands for a muscle study. Shkaplerov then analyzed the Zvezda service module’s atmosphere and checked Russian life support and electronics hardware. Dubrov worked on communications gear and downloaded data collected from radiation detectors.
Science and Exercise Hardware Work as Trio Nears Departure
A waxing crescent Moon during is pictured from the station during an orbital sunset as it flew above the Pacific Ocean.
The seven-member Expedition 66 crew spent Thursday servicing physics research gear and exercise hardware aboard the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the orbiting lab’s three visitors are preparing for their departure on Sunday.
The coldest temperatures in the Universe can be found inside the space station’s Cold Atom Lab (CAL). Atoms are chilled to temperatures near absolute zero allowing scientists to observe fundamental behaviors and quantum characteristics not possible on Earth. NASA Flight Engineers Kayla Barron and Raja Chari opened the CAL today and replaced computer hardware inside the space physics device.
Human research is always ongoing aboard the station helping scientists understand how microgravity affects humans as NASA prepares to go to the Moon, Mars and beyond. NASA Flight Engineer Thomas Marshburn scanned his right leg’s femoral artery with an ultrasound device to observe accelerated aging-like characteristics in the cardiovascular system that take place in weightlessness.
Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov replaced a motor inside the Zvezda service module’s treadmill during the afternoon. Flight surgeons regularly monitor space exercise ensuring crew members maintain muscle and bone health during long term space missions.
Three station visitors are nearing the end of their mission and getting ready to return to Earth on Sunday. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin led Japanese spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano on a review of the descent procedures they will use as they soar into the atmosphere aboard the Soyuz MS-20 crew ship. The trio will undock from the Poisk module on Sunday at 6:50 p.m. EST and parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan at 10:13 p.m.
