A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, concluding a one-day journey to rendezvous with the orbiting laboratory after launching from Florida.
The capsule established its first contact with the space station at 9:16 a.m. ET, followed by the opening of its hatches at 10:58 a.m. ET. This mission, named Crew-7, features astronauts from four different countries, making it the most nationally diverse SpaceX mission to date. The crew comprises NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli (the mission commander), Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency, Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos.
The four astronauts were launched aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:27 a.m. ET on Saturday. During the past day, they have been free-flying aboard the 13-foot-wide capsule as it gradually maneuvered towards the space station.
Crew-7’s mission involves joining the seven astronauts already on the orbiting laboratory. They will spend approximately five days taking over operations from the SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts, who have been on the space station since March. Following this, the Crew-6 astronauts will return home aboard their spacecraft, the Crew Dragon Endeavour.
This mission represents the eighth flight as part of NASA and SpaceX’s commercial crew program, which has been transporting astronauts to the space station since SpaceX’s first crewed mission in 2020.
While on the space station, expected to last around 180 days, the Crew-7 astronauts will conduct a range of experiments. Research includes investigating the potential risk of dispersing bacteria and fungi from human-led space missions, analyzing whether microorganisms can be expelled from the space station’s vents into space.
Another experiment, led by the European Space Agency (ESA), will explore the differences in sleeping patterns in microgravity compared to Earth by analyzing astronauts’ brainwaves while they sleep. Additionally, a study will examine the formation of biofilms in wastewater on the space station, which could contribute to finding more efficient ways to recycle water for drinking and hygiene in space (astronauts have historically used recycled sweat and urine for these purposes on the station).
Satoshi Furukawa, one of the two astronauts with prior spaceflight experience on this mission, expressed his anticipation for conducting scientific research during his stay on the space station. This research could potentially aid in the development of new medicine and provide insights for future lunar exploration.
While Mogensen, the other experienced astronaut on Crew-7, and NASA’s Moghbeli are both on their first spaceflights, they are enthusiastic about the unique perspectives and scientific opportunities the mission offers.
Moghbeli shared her excitement, saying, “One of the things I’m most excited about is looking back at our beautiful planet. Everyone I’ve talked to who has flown already has said that was kind of a life-changing perspective.”