Expedition 62 crewmembers (from left) Andrew Morgan, Oleg Skripochka and Jessica Meir pose for a portrait before their return to Earth.
NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir, and Oleg Skripochka landed on Earth at 1:16 a.m. EDT in Kazakhstan. The trio departed the International Space Station in their Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft at 9:53 p.m.
After post-landing medical checks, the crew will return by Russian helicopters to the recovery staging city in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, where they will split up. Morgan and Meir will board a NASA plane located in the adjacent city of Kyzlorda, Kazakhstan, for a flight back to Houston. Skripochka will board a Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center aircraft in Baikonur to return to his home in Star City, Russia.
Remaining aboard the station is the three-person crew of Expedition 63 with NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy serving as station commander and Roscosmos’ Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner serving as flight engineers.
Expedition 62 Commander and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka poses with NASA Flight Engineers Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan perched on his shoulders in the station.
The Soyuz spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station at 9:53 p.m. EDT, carrying three people back to Earth. NASA Television will air live coverage beginning at 12 a.m. Friday, April 17, for the deorbit burn at 12:22 a.m. and the spacecraft’s parachute-assisted landing.
NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir and Oleg Skripochka are expected to land in their Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft at 1:16 a.m. on the steppe of Kazakhstan southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan (11:16 a.m. Kazakhstan time).
Among the research experiments to which the Expedition 62 crew contributed during their mission was the Droplet Formation Study, which evaluates water droplet formation, water flow and, indirectly, the perceived pressure of current shower head technology as compared to the industry-standard use of jet nozzles. The study examines droplet size and speed and how they affect the feeling of increased pressure for the end user. Another experiment to which the crew contributed was Mochii, a miniature scanning electron microscope used to conduct real-time, on-site imaging and composition measurements of particles. Analysis of small and microscopic particles is a critical need for human space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit when samples cannot be returned to Earth immediately for analysis.
Expedition 62 crewmembers (from left) Andrew Morgan, Oleg Skripochka and Jessica Meir pose for a portrait before their return to Earth.
NASA Television and the agency’s website are now broadcasting live coverage of the International Space Station’s Expedition 62 crew as they are preparing for their return to Earth.
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos are saying their farewells to NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. Soon Meir Morgan, and Skripochka will board their Soyuz spacecraft and close the hatches between the Soyuz and the space station. Hatches are expected to close at about 6:30 p.m. EDT for a series of leak checks before the Soyuz undocks and returns to Earth early Friday morning.
Clockwise from bottom left are station crewmembers Chris Cassidy, Anatoly Ivanishin, Ivan Vagner, Andrew Morgan, Jessica Meir and Oleg Skripochka.
NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir and Oleg Skripochka of the Russian space agency Roscosmos are preparing to depart the International Space Station Thursday evening in their Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft and return to Earth.
Today the Expedition 62 crew conducted a change of command ceremony in which Skripochka ceremonially handed command of the orbiting laboratory to newly arrived NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy. Expedition 63, a three-person crew of Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, begins when the Soyuz departs the station Thursday.
NASA Television and the agency’s website will provide live coverage beginning at 6 p.m. EDT April 16 as the departing crew members say farewell and close the hatches between their Soyuz and the spacecraft at about 6:30 p.m.
NASA coverage will resume at 9:30 p.m. prior to the trio undocking the Soyuz from the aft port of the station’s Zvezda service module at 9:53 p.m. At midnight, NASA TV will return to provide coverage during the deorbit burn at 12:22 a.m. Friday, April 17, that will put the Soyuz on course for a parachute-assisted landing at 1:16 a.m. (11:16 a.m. Kazakhstan time) on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan.
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy (left) will assume station command from Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka (right) today.
Three Expedition 62 crewmembers are getting ready to head home before U.S., Russian and Japanese spaceship traffic ramps up. Meanwhile, human research activities continue full speed ahead aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy will assume command and control of the orbiting lab today at 4:55 p.m. EDT during the Change of Command ceremony live on NASA TV. Commander Oleg Skripochka will turn the keys over to Cassidy before leaving the station on Thursday at 9:53 p.m. EDT when Expedition 63 officially begins.
Cassidy will stay onboard the station until October with Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. This is third station mission for Cassidy and Ivanishin while Vagner is beginning his first.
Skripochka is returning to Earth with NASA Flight Engineers Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan inside the Soyuz MS-15 crew ship. The trio will parachute to landing in Kazakhstan on Friday at 1:16 a.m. (11:16 a.m. Kazakh time). Morgan will have lived in space for 272 days while Meir and Skripochka will have orbited Earth for 205 days.
The crew collected blood, saliva and urine samples today before stowing them in a science freezer. Scientists on the ground will analyze the samples for markers indicating the effects of microgravity on humans. The orbital residents also contributed to nutrition studies today to understand the crew’s appetite for the station’s food menu and the health impacts of their space diet.
The next spaceship to visit the station is planned for April 24 when Russia’s Progress 75 space freighter launches for a docking to the station’s Zvezda service module. The U.S. Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft will finish its station cargo mission on May 11 when the Canadarm2 robotic arm removes it from the Unity module and releases it back into space. Japan is targeting May 20 for the launch of its HTV-9 Kounotori resupply ship when it will begin a five-day trip to the orbital lab.
NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir participate in Earth photography activities inside the Destiny laboratory module.
The six crewmembers aboard the International Space Station continued advanced space research today promoting health for humans on and off Earth. The crew will split up at the end of the week when the Expedition 62 trio undocks and returns to Earth.
Scientists are looking at how human muscles adapt to microgravity for the Myotones space biology study. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy began the first of his four sessions for the human research experiment today. He marked muscle points on his skin then used a specialized device to measure his muscles’ biochemical properties. The research could prepare astronauts for longer space missions and help people on Earth with muscle conditions.
His two crewmates, Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, are getting used to life on the orbiting lab while maintaining Russian station hardware. The cosmonauts are deactivating communication systems in the new Soyuz MS-16 crew ship and getting up to speed on their complement of space research.
The two astronauts are also getting ready to end their mission with Commander Oleg Skripochka and return to Earth on Friday. The trio is packing the Soyuz MS-15 crew ship with cargo and personal items. They will undock Thursday at 9:53 p.m. EDT and parachute to landing in Kazakhstan less than three-and-half hours later.
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Chris Cassidy pose in front of the state flag of Maine inside the Kibo laboratory module. Both astronauts’ home state is Maine.
Three new crewmembers are getting used to life aboard the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the Expedition 62 trio is getting ready for its return Earth on Friday.
Three NASA astronauts and three Roscosmos cosmonauts have been working together on the orbiting lab since April 9 when the Expedition 63 crew docked to the station’s Poisk module. U.S. astronaut Chris Cassidy is leading Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner during their 195-day mission.
They will be familiarizing themselves with station systems and getting up to speed with science work over the next several days. Cassidy put on virtual reality goggles this morning for an experiment monitoring how he visually interprets motion, orientation and distance in microgravity. Ivanishin and Vagner were researching space biology and technology studies today, as they get used to their new orbiting home 260 miles above Earth.
Expedition 62 Flight Engineers Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan with Commander Oleg Skripochka will complete their station mission on Friday when they return to Earth. They are packing their Soyuz MS-15 crew ship and reviewing landing procedures this week. They are also familiarizing themselves with the conditions they will experience upon reentering Earth’s atmosphere and feeling gravity for the first time in months.
Skripochka will hand over station control to Cassidy on Wednesday at 5:55 p.m. EDT during the Change of Command Ceremony live on NASA TV. The Expedition 62 crew will undock in the Soyuz vehicle on Thursday at 9:53 p.m. They will shoot through the atmosphere in the Soyuz descent module and parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan at 1:17 a.m. (11:17 a.m. Kazakh time).
The new Expedition 63 crew joined the Expedition 62 crew today a board the International Space Station. (Front row from left) NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. (Back row from left) NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir. Credit: NASA TV
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, along with Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of the Russian space agency Roscosmos joined Expedition 62 Commander Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos and NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir aboard the International Space Station when the hatches between the Soyuz spacecraft and the orbiting laboratory officially opened at 12:28 p.m. EDT.
The arrival temporarily restores the station’s crew complement to six for the remainder of Expedition 62.
Cassidy, Morgan, and Meir are set to participate in a crew news conference at 10:45 a.m. EDT Friday, April 10. The teleconference will stream on NASA TV and the agency’s website. Recorded video of the crew working on the International Space Station will air at 10:30 a.m.
Skripochka, Morgan, and Meir will undock in their Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft to return to Earth April 17. At the time of undocking, Expedition 63 will begin with Cassidy as the commander for a mission of more than six months during which they will conduct about 160 science investigations in fields such as, biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences, and technology development. Work on the unique microgravity laboratory advances scientific knowledge and demonstrates new technologies, making research breakthroughs that will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration of the Moon and Mars.
The crew members of Expedition 63 are scheduled to be aboard the station to welcome the first commercial crew spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who will arrive on NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 flight test, currently targeted to launch in mid-to-late May.
It is the third spaceflight for Cassidy and Ivanishin and the first for Vagner.
The Soyuz MS-16 crew ship carrying the Exp 63 crew approaches its docking port on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV
The Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner docked to the International Space Station at 10:13 a.m. EDT while both spacecraft were flying about 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean.
Aboard the space station, NASA Flight Engineers Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir and Expedition 62 Commander Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos will welcome the new crew members when the hatches between the two spacecraft are opened following standard pressurization and leak checks.
Watch the hatch opening on NASA TV and the agency’s website beginning at noon for hatch opening targeted for 12:15 p.m.
The Soyuz MS-16 rocket ascends toward space with three Expedition 63 crewmembers heading to the space station today. Credit: NASA TV
After a successful launch at 4:05 a.m. EDT of the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and two Russian cosmonauts safely reached orbit, beginning a four-orbit, six-hour flight to reach the International Space Station and join the Expedition 62 crew. At the time of launch, the station was flying about 259 miles over northeast Kazakhstan, south of the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan and 587 statute miles ahead of the Soyuz as it left the launch pad.
Cassidy, along with Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, will dock the Soyuz to the station’s Poisk service module at 10:15 a.m. Coverage of the docking will begin on NASA TV and the agency’s website at 9:30 a.m.
About two hours after docking, hatches between the Soyuz and the station will open, and they will join Expedition 62 Commander Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos and NASA Flight Engineers Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir.
Skripochka, Morgan, and Meir will complete their station mission and return to Earth April 17 on the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft, which will land in Kazakhstan. Morgan launched July 20, 2019, for an extended duration mission. Meir and Skripochka launched to the space station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft on Sept. 25, 2019.
