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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 Answer Questions from Quarantine

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 Answer Questions from Quarantine

Image shows a NASA insignia in the background while four astronauts in blue flight suits sit and speak virtually to the media inside Astronaut Crew Quarters at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. Photo credit: NASA
Crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission, from left to right, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, participate in a news conference from Astronaut Crew Quarters inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.
NASA

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev answered questions Sunday from the Astronaut Crew Quarters inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

During their virtual briefing with the media, Crew-12 discussed their science objections aboard the International Space Station and some of the personal mementos they’ll bring on their eight-month journey at the orbiting laboratory.

Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than 6:01 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 11, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The targeted docking time is approximately 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 12.

Watch the briefing below:

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Elyna Niles-Carnes

A Grand, Snow-Rimmed Canyon

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A Grand, Snow-Rimmed Canyon

 
A portion of the Grand Canyon, photographed from above, forms a U shape. The plateau on both sides of the canyon is partially covered in a layer of white snow.
January 26, 2026

A sunny day in early 2026 revealed the remnants of a winter storm on Arizona’s high desert—and produced a striking, if somewhat puzzling, display of light and shadow in the Grand Canyon. An astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured these photographs of the distinct topography on January 26, 2026.

Snow flurries were flying in the area the previous two days, as they were across much of the central and eastern U.S. Hazardous conditions within Grand Canyon National Park prompted officials to close Desert View Drive, which runs along a portion of the South Rim shown in the photo above, and to issue warnings about icy trails. (The North Rim is closed to traffic in winter and early spring.) When the road reopened around the time of these photos, a layer of white remained on both the South Rim, at an elevation of around 7,000 feet (2,100 meters), and the North Rim, at about 8,000 feet (2,400 meters).

A portion of the Grand Canyon, with the curving Colorado River at its bottom, runs across the width of this downward-looking photo. Snow covers some of the plateau on both sides of the canyon, with more appearing on the North Rim.
January 26, 2026

Snow is typical at these high elevations in winter. The South Rim and North Rim see average season totals of 58 inches and 142 inches, respectively. At lower, warmer elevations, precipitation tends to fall as rain. On January 24, for example, snow fell on the plateau, while a weather station at Phantom Ranch on the canyon floor recorded 0.06 inches of rain.

If these photos make the iconic feature of the American West look more like a mountain range than a vast chasm, the effect is likely due to a visual illusion called relief inversion. Many people have an unconscious expectation that a light source should come from the top of an image. In these images, however, the Sun is shining from the south, or the bottom of the photos. Though the shadows on the canyon walls may be visually deceiving, the presence of snow helps to signal that the flat areas sit at higher elevations.

Astronaut photographs ISS074-E-208838 and ISS074-E-208848 were acquired on January 26, 2026, with a Nikon Z9 digital camera using a focal length of 400 millimeters. They are provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center. The images were taken by a member of the Expedition 74 crew. The images have been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

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A portion of the Grand Canyon, photographed from above, forms a U shape. The plateau on both sides of the canyon is partially covered in a layer of white snow.

January 26, 2026

JPEG (9.88 MB)
A portion of the Grand Canyon, with the curving Colorado River at its bottom, runs across the width of this downward-looking photo. Snow covers some of the plateau on both sides of the canyon, with more appearing on the North Rim.

January 26, 2026

JPEG (10.45 MB)

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 ‘Go’ For Launch

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 ‘Go’ For Launch

The four members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station pose together for a crew portrait in their pressure suits at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, Pilot and Commander respectively, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Mission Specialist Sophie Adenot.
The four members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station pose together for a crew portrait in their pressure suits at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, Pilot and Commander respectively, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Mission Specialist Sophie Adenot.
SpaceX

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission has been cleared to proceed with launch preparations following a Flight Readiness Review with NASA, SpaceX, and the agency’s international partners. Liftoff of Crew-12 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft remains on track for no earlier than 6:01 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 11, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev on their eight-month science mission.

Already in quarantine, the Crew-12 crew members arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday night to begin their final preparations ahead of launch. On Saturday, Feb. 7, SpaceX will roll the rocket and spacecraft to pad 40 where it will be raised into its launch position. The crew also will take questions during a virtual news conference from Astronaut Crew Quarters at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8, available on NASA Kennedy’s YouTube channel. This will be the crew’s final media opportunity before launch. The four crew will perform a full rehearsal of launch day activities on the morning of Monday, Feb. 9, including putting on their spacesuits, going to their launch pad, and strapping into the Dragon spacecraft.

Mission managers from NASA and SpaceX also will discuss the preparations and launch status at 11 a.m. on Feb. 9 from Kennedy.

As part of the agency’s Flight Readiness Review, NASA evaluated the findings from SpaceX’s review of a Starlink mission where a Falcon 9 second stage experienced an issue during preparations for its deorbit burn. NASA and SpaceX have determined, since the Falcon 9 second stage flies a different deorbit profile for NASA’s crewed missions, there is no increased risk to crew safety during ascent. The agency and SpaceX are “go” for Crew-12 to launch to the International Space Station.

Crew-12 is the 12th crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human space transportation system and its 13th flight with astronauts for NASA, including the Demo-2 test flight, to the space station through the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

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Elyna Niles-Carnes

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 Flies to NASA Kennedy

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 Flies to NASA Kennedy

The four crew members representing NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station pose for a portrait at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, Crew-12 Pilot and Commander respectively, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Mission Specialist Sophie Adenot.
The four crew members representing NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station pose for a portrait at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, Crew-12 Pilot and Commander respectively, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Mission Specialist Sophie Adenot.
NASA/James Blair

The crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to complete final preparations before their launch to the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev took off at 6:55 p.m. EST from Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. They are expected to land around 8:42 p.m. at NASA Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility.

Updates regarding the crews arrival will be posted on the mission blog as well as @NASAKennedy on X, or NASA Kennedy on Facebook.

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Elyna Niles-Carnes

Week Ends with Dragon Preps, Space Physics, and Human Research

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Week Ends with Dragon Preps, Space Physics, and Human Research

A green and red aurora streams across Earth’s horizon above the city lights of Europe in this photograph, which looks north across Italy toward Germany. The International Space Station was orbiting 262 miles above the Mediterranean Sea at approximately 10:02 p.m. local time when the image was captured.
A green and red aurora streams across Earth’s horizon above the city lights of Europe in this photograph, which looks north across Italy toward Germany, from the International Space Station.
NASA/Chris Williams

Expedition 74 wrapped up the week with more preparations for the upcoming launch and arrival of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission. The orbital trio also studied space physics and human research while resupplying and inventorying lab supplies and tools aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams kicked off his shift with SpaceX Dragon operations. Williams first transferred some completed experiments, used hardware, and trash inside a Dragon spacecraft that arrived on August 25, 2025. Next, he staged a variety of gear that will be used by the four Crew-12 members shortly after their arrival to the space station following their launch targeted for no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 11.

After lunchtime, Williams focused on science hardware first injecting gas into physics experiment hardware installed inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox. He was testing ways to control spacecraft fuel tank pressure due to cryogenic fuel propellants evaporating as a result of the surrounding heat. Next, he resupplied Human Research Facility kits with DNA oral swabs, blood sample tubes, and gloves to ensure ongoing biomedical research.

Station Commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev, both Roscosmos cosmonauts, joined each other for a respiratory test at the beginning of their shift on Friday. The duo took turns wearing tracheal acoustic sensors that recorded their exhalation rate as they performed controlled breathing maneuvers. Researchers will use the sound data to assess how the lack of gravity affects a crew member’s respiratory function.

Afterward, Kud-Sverchkov inventoried tools throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment. Next, he refreshed his Soyuz spacecraft piloting skills familiarizing himself with return to Earth operations using a computer simulator. Mikaev configured data and processing hardware that controls a variety of research projects including material science, plasma physics, and advanced technology demonstrations. Finally, he joined Kud-Sverchkov for the Soyuz descent simulations before ending his shift swapping cargo in and out of the Progress 92 cargo craft.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia