NASA Will Return Astronauts To Earth Next Week After A Six-Month Journey
Four astronauts are expected to return to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) Monday morning after spending more than six months in space, NASA said.
The four members of the Crew 2 mission, including a French astronaut and a Japanese astronaut, will return to Earth before the arrival of a replacement crew, whose launch has been repeatedly delayed due to adverse weather conditions.
NASA said in a statement Friday night that Crew 2 must return to Earth “no earlier than 7:14 a.m. EST (12:14 p.m. GMT) on Monday, November 8, with a landing off the coast of the Florida”.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling as we prepare to take off, we may never get back to the ISS, and it truly is a magical place,” French astronaut Thomas Pesquet said on Friday at a press conference from the space station.
“I am very grateful that people dreamed of the ISS some time ago and then worked hard to make it a reality and build it for the benefit of all,” Pesquet added.
Endeavor, the Crew Dragon spacecraft, is due to undock from the International Space Station at 6:05 p.m. GMT on Sunday for the return trip.
After detaching from the ISS, the capsule begins a journey of several hours, the duration of which can vary greatly depending on the flight path, then lands off the coast of Florida.
An alternative undocking and landing option will be available on Monday if weather conditions are not favorable, NASA said.
Both missions are carried out by NASA in cooperation with SpaceX, which now operates regular flights from the United States to the ISS.
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Crew-3 is expected to be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the astronauts have been in quarantine for days, to the ISS.
American astronaut Megan McArthur was convinced that failure to bring the replacement crew to the ISS before the current crew left was only a temporary setback.
“This is of course not optimal,” McArthur told reporters at Friday’s press conference. “But we are ready to handle it. Space travel is full of little challenges.”
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