NASA Astronaut, Two Russian Cosmonauts Arrives Safely at ISS

The International Space Station (ISS) welcomed NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and two Russian cosmonauts on Friday, taking the total number of occupants to ten for the coming week.

The Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft carrying Vande Hei and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov docked to the station's Rassvet module at 7:05 a.m. EDT. Docking took place two orbits and three hours after launch from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome at 3:42 a.m.

Mission To ISS Continues For NASA's Final Space Shuttle Flight

(Photo: NASA via Getty Images)
IN SPACE - JULY 12: In this handout image provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, Expedition 28 flight engineer, waits at an International Space Station's pressurized mating adapter (PMA-2) docked to the space shuttle Atlantis, as the station's robotic system moves the failed pump module (out of frame) over to the spacewalking astronaut and the shuttle's cargo bay during a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk July 12, 2011, in space. This is the 160th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998. Space shuttle Atlantis has embarked on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station where it will deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts. This was the final mission of the space shuttle program, which began on April 12, 1981, with the launch of Colombia.

NASA said Vande Hei, Novitskiy, and Dubrov joined the Expedition 64 crew as the hatches open around 9 a.m. Expedition 65, led by NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, will begin on Friday, April 16, after the departure of NASA's Kate Rubins, Roscosmos' Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and departing station commander Sergey Ryzhikov. Following a six-month stay aboard the orbital laboratory, the trio will return to Kazakhstan.

The change of command ceremony, which NASA will broadcast live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website, is set for 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 15.

About the Mission

This is Vande Hei's second mission into space, Novitskiy's third, and Dubrov's first. The trio will focus on science and study in technological advancement, Earth science, genetics, human research, and more during their six-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory.

According to Fox 9, Vande Hei said that his top priority would be Alzheimer's disease research in orbit for the next few months.

"One of the experiments I'm going to work on is potentially helping out with Alzheimer's disease," said Vande Hei. "There is something called amyloids."

Amyloids are clumps of complex protein that accumulate in the brain and suffocate neurons, causing memory loss.

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Vande Hei said amyloid is a crucial protein in the Alzheimer's disease process.

A group of Japanese researchers is also carrying out the experiments. Vande Hei identifies himself as a lab technician in a pre-flight interview.

"Sometimes the scientists will actually look over our shoulders with video and talk us through what they want us to do," said Vande Hei. "Other times we just pull out a procedure to perform and go for it."

The same group of Japanese researchers successfully grew amyloid stands on the space station three years ago, demonstrating that microgravity is an ideal testing area.

Vande Hei will produce more amyloids so that Japanese scientists can figure out why they develop so slowly in microgravity. This awareness can one day help people delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

When is the Next Launch for ISS?

The arrival of Crew-2 onboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon during Expedition 65 will send four more people to the International Space Station. Crew-2 is officially scheduled to launch on April 22, Earth Day. On April 28, Crew-1, the world's first long-duration commercial crew mission, will return to Earth.

The International Space Station reached a milestone of 20 years of continuous human presence in November 2020, allowing for specific technical demonstrations and studies that aid in preparing long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars while also enhancing life on Earth. There have been 243 visitors from 19 countries to the orbital laboratory, which has hosted approximately 3,000 research inquiries from 108 countries and regions.