Expedition 68: NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin entered the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, September 22, at 1:04 am IST. The trio were launched into space aboard the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, at 7:24 pm IST. About three hours after launch, the Soyuz spacecraft docked into the Rassvet module of the space station.
The hatches between the Soyuz spacecraft and the space station were opened two hours after docking, following which the Expedition 67 crew welcomed Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin on board.
10 Humans Living On The Space Station
After the arrival of Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin on the space station, the number of humans living aboard the orbital laboratory is 10. NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov, who were launched to the ISS on separate missions, have been living on the space station for months. The 10 members on the orbital laboratory are a part of Expedition 67.
Artemyev is currently the commander of the space station.
The Soyuz MS-22 mission is the first flight into space for Rubio and Petelin, and the second flight for Prokopyev. They will spend six months aboard the space station.
Expedition 68 To Begin Next Week
A week later, cosmonauts Artemyev, Matveev and Korsakov, who have been living on the orbital laboratory since March 18, will board their Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft to return to Earth. The departure of the three cosmonauts from the space station will mark the end of Expedition 67, and the beginning of Expedition 68.
The Soyuz spacecraft will undock from the Prichal module of the space station and descend through Earth's atmosphere. Then, parachutes will bring the crew capsule to Earth. The trip will land in Kazakhstan, marking the end of their six-month-long journey on the orbital outpost.
Before the departure of the cosmonauts, a 'Change of Command' ceremony will be held, and Cristoforetti will take over as station commander from Artemyev. The leadership change will take place on September 29. Thus, Expedition 68 will begin on September 29.
In October, 2022, the SpaceX Crew-5 mission aims to launch NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the space station.