NASA / SpaceX - Dragon Crew-3 Mission patch.
April 11, 2022
As they prepare to return to Earth later this month, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts will answer media questions about their time aboard the International Space Station during an in-orbit news conference at 1:20 p.m. EDT Friday, April 15.
Image above: Clockwise from bottom, are NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Kayla Barron and Thomas Marshburn with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer are pictured during a playful portrait aboard the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA.
NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, will participate in the news conference. The event will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
The Crew-3 astronauts have been living and working on the station since their launch Nov. 10, 2021. During their mission, the crew members contributed to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations. They worked on a variety of plant growth experiments, testing new systems for growing crops and studying potentially drought-resistant cotton plants. In addition, they tested a handheld bioprinter designed to print bandages made from skin cells directly onto a wound, and a miniature scanning electron microscope. Crew members also installed a new device to support studies on fire safety in microgravity, and conducted one of the first archaeological experiments in space. Working in pairs, the astronauts also completed four spacewalks to prepare the station for upcoming solar array upgrades by assembling and installing modification kits and successfully replacing a faulty antenna on the Port-1 truss structure.
The Crew-3’s SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which they named Endurance, will undock from the space station later this month, splashing down off the coast of Florida to conclude the mission.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission is the third crew rotation mission of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Regular, long-duration commercial crew rotation missions enable NASA to continue the important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the station. Such research benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future exploration of the Moon and Mars starting with the agency’s Artemis missions, which includes landing the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface.
Follow Chari, Barron, Marshburn, and Maurer on social media, and learn more about their scientific journey and download images and video on NASA’s website: https://www.nasa.gov/subject/19955/crew3/
Follow updates on Crew-3 mission at: https://www.nasa.gov/station
Related links:
NASA Television: https://www.nasa.gov/live
Testing new systems for growing crops: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7581
Drought-resistant cotton plants: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8341
Handheld bioprinter: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8552
Archaeological experiments in space: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8684
Solar array upgrades: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-solar-arrays-to-power-nasa-s-international-space-station-research
Replacing a faulty antenna: https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/12/iss-nasa-astronauts-replace-antenna.html
Commercial Crew Program: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html
Commercial Space: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/index.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Sean Potter/Joshua Finch/Gina Anderson/JSC/Courtney Beasley.
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