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<\/a>Two Expedition 60<\/a> crewmembers are moving ahead with departure preparations as the rest of their crewmates focused diligently on space biology research today. Back on Earth, three upcoming International Space Station<\/a> residents are making final preparations before their launch next week.<\/p>\n Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin<\/a> is collecting personal items and station cargo that he and Flight Engineer Nick Hague<\/a> will take home inside their Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft. The duo have been in space since March and are counting down to an Oct. 3 landing in Kazakhstan after 203 days in space. They will parachute to Earth with Spaceflight Participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori who will arrive at the orbiting lab next week for an eight-day stay.<\/p>\n New Expedition 61<\/a> crewmates Jessica Meir<\/a> of NASA and Oleg Skripochka<\/a> of Roscosmos will liftoff Sept. 25 with Almansoori aboard the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft. They will dock their Soyuz crew ship to the Zvezda service module<\/a>\u2019s rear port after a near six-hour, four-orbit ride in space.<\/p>\n The trio stepped outside the Cosmonaut Hotel today at Kazakhstan\u2019s Baikonur Cosmodrome for traditional tree-planting ceremonies and media activities. Meir and Skripochka will stay in space until April of 2020 and return to Earth with NASA Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vital biomedical research to support astronauts in space and improve health on Earth is keeping the crew busy all week aboard the orbiting lab. Once again, Morgan and fellow astronauts Christina Koch<\/a> and Luca Parmitano<\/a> are exploring how microgravity causes cellular and molecular changes in mice. Experimental results may provide doctors with therapeutic insights into aging and muscle ailments<\/a> in humans.<\/p>\n Alexander Skvortsov<\/a> of Roscosmos inspected the Zarya module<\/a> for microbes today. The veteran cosmonaut photographed and swabbed several spots in the Russian segment today and stowed the samples for analysis.<\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Mark Garcia <\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two Expedition 60<\/a> crewmembers are moving ahead with departure preparations as the rest of their crewmates focused diligently on space biology research today. Back on Earth, three upcoming International Space Station<\/a> residents are making final preparations before their launch next week.<\/p>\n Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin<\/a> is collecting personal items and station cargo that he and Flight Engineer Nick Hague<\/a> will take home inside their Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft. The duo have been in space since March and are counting down to an Oct. 3 landing in Kazakhstan after 203 days in space. They will parachute to Earth with Spaceflight Participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori who will arrive at the orbiting lab next week for an eight-day stay.<\/p>\n New Expedition 61<\/a> crewmates Jessica Meir<\/a> of NASA and Oleg Skripochka<\/a> of Roscosmos will liftoff Sept. 25 \u2026 Continue reading Crews Preparing to Trade Places During Biomedical Science on Station<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a>(From left) Spaceflight participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori and Expedition 61 crewmembers Oleg Skripochka and Jessica Meir review their flight plan with training instructors. Credit: NASA\/Victor Zelentsov <\/p>\n