{"id":616716,"date":"2026-09-30T20:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T20:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/616716\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T20:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T20:46:08","slug":"station-prepares-to-welcome-crew-13-while-continuing-space-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/616716\/","title":{"rendered":"Station Prepares to Welcome Crew-13 while Continuing Space Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Expedition 75<\/a> is getting the International Space Station<\/a> ready for the arrival of NASA\u2019s SpaceX Crew-13<\/a> mission scheduled to launch and dock to the orbital outpost on Thursday, Oct. 1<\/a>. In the meantime, space research and lab maintenance rounded out the schedule keeping the astronauts and cosmonauts busy on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Crew-13 commander Jessica Watkins<\/a> and pilot Luke Delaney<\/a>, both NASA astronauts, along with mission specialists Johsua Kutryk of CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop the Falcon 9 rocket at 11:10 a.m. EDT on Thursday. NASA+ begins its live launch coverage at 9:20 a.m.<\/a> from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station\u2019s Launch Pad 40 in Florida.<\/p>\n

Dragon will dock to the Harmony module<\/a>\u2019s forward port on the orbital outpost about 7 p.m. the same day. The four Crew-13 members will open the hatch about an hour-and-a-half later, enter Harmony, and join the Expedition 75 crew for welcoming remarks and a safety orientation. Docking coverage begins at 5:20 p.m.<\/a> on NASA+.<\/p>\n

Three NASA astronauts living aboard the station worked together on Wednesday getting ready for the arrival of Crew-13. Station commander Jessica Meir<\/a> reorganized cargo inside the Harmony\u2019s pressurized mating adapter-2, where Dragon will dock, making room for Crew-13\u2019s entry into the orbital outpost. Flight engineers Anil Menon<\/a> and Jack Hathaway<\/a> staged supplies in Harmony necessary to support the four crewmates immediately after their entry into the station and beginning their mission.<\/p>\n

Flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) focused primarily on science throughout her shift on Wednesday. Adenot started her day in the Columbus laboratory module<\/a> working out on the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D)<\/a>. She pedaled on the E4D\u2019s exercise cycle continuing to test the device\u2019s ability to keep crews fit inside spacecraft during long-term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Next, she practiced simulated lunar landing techniques on a computer helping researchers understand how microgravity affects a crew member\u2019s cognition when manually piloting a spacecraft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev continued testing the lower body negative pressure suit that reverses space-caused fluid shifts from the head toward the feet. The specialized suit may help crews adjust quicker to Earth\u2019s gravity after a long-term mission in weightlessness.<\/p>\n

Roscosmos flight engineers Anna Kikina and Pyotr Dubrov took turns wearing arm, wrist, and finger cuffs measuring their blood pressure to understand how microgravity affects a crew member\u2019s microcirculatory system. Afterward, Kikina unloaded cargo delivered recently aboard the Progress 96<\/a> cargo spacecraft while Dubrov worked on life support and computer maintenance.<\/p>\n

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog<\/a>, @space_station<\/a> on X, as well as the ISS Facebook<\/a> and ISS Instagram<\/a> accounts.<\/p>\n

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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September 30, 2026 2:42PM<\/p>\n

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