4 astronauts from US, Japan and Russia successfully dock at space station: NASA

New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) Four astronauts from the US, Japan, and Russia, part of the NASA rotation mission, have successfully docked at the International Space Station (ISS), after an approximately 15-hour journey, the US space agency said on Saturday.

Called Crew 11, the team involves NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

The crew from NASA, JAXA, and Roscosmos “arrived at the International Space Station as the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the orbiting complex at 2:27 a.m. EDT (11:57 am IST) on Saturday”, NASA shared in a post on the social media platform X.

The crew lifted off at 11:43 a.m. Eastern Time (9.13 pm IST) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday.

The crew-11 joined NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, and Jonny Kim, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Alexey Zubritsky, who were already on board the ISS.

During their stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, the astronauts are expected to carry out a range of scientific research and technology demonstrations.

Their tasks include simulating lunar landings, testing vision protection strategies, and conducting studies to improve human health and performance in space.

The crew will also study plant cell division and microgravity's effects on bacteria-killing viruses, and perform experiments to produce a higher volume of human stem cells and generate on-demand nutrients, according to NASA.

The crew-11 will spend at least six months at the orbiting lab, swapping places with colleagues up there since March. SpaceX will bring those four back as early as Wednesday.

"NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 will depart the space station after the arrival of Crew-11 and a handover period. Ahead of Crew-10’s return, mission teams will review weather conditions at the splashdown sites off the coast of California prior to departure from station," the space agency said.

--IANS

rvt/