NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina reached the International Space Station on Tuesday after launching earlier in the day from Kazakhstan, increasing the station’s population to 10 crew members for roughly the next two weeks, according to the space agency.
The Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 10:47 a.m. EDT and completed a two-orbit trip lasting about three hours before docking with the station’s Prichal module at 1:52 p.m., NASA said.
The agency expected the spacecraft’s hatch to open at about 4 p.m., when Menon, Dubrov and Kikina would join the Expedition 74 crew aboard the orbital laboratory. The station is currently home to NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrey Fedyaev.
NASA scheduled live coverage of the hatch opening beginning at 3:30 p.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime and YouTube.
During his mission, Menon is expected to carry out a range of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations designed to support future human exploration while producing research with potential applications on Earth. Among those projects is work to improve the production of semiconductor crystals in microgravity, an effort aimed at enabling large-scale manufacturing of components used in advanced computing systems, artificial intelligence technologies and next-generation medical devices.
His research agenda also includes evaluating augmented reality-assisted ultrasound techniques that could reduce astronauts’ reliance on medical support from Earth during future deep-space missions. In addition, Menon will participate as a research subject in studies examining how spaceflight affects blood circulation and will help test the bioprinting of vascular tissue in microgravity, work intended to expand scientists’ understanding of aging and contribute to future medical therapies.
NASA said Expedition 75 is set to begin Sunday, July 26, when Williams, Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev depart the station after completing an approximately eight-month science mission.
The agency also plans to broadcast the Expedition 74 change-of-command ceremony beginning at 9:40 a.m. Saturday, July 25, when Kud-Sverchkov is scheduled to hand command of the station to Meir.
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