China has named the three astronauts set to fly to the Tiangong space station at a pre-launch press conference one day ahead of the Oct. 31 flight of the Shenzhou 21 mission.

Astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang will be aboard the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft, currently scheduled to launch on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 11:44 a.m. EDT Friday (1544 GMT, or 11:44 p.m. Beijing Time).

The mission will be commanded by Zhang Lu, 48, who was a crew member of the Shenzhou 15 mission which launched in November 2022 and returned to Earth in June 2023. "After two years, being able to once again represent my country and carry out the Shenzhou-21 mission fills me with excitement and anticipation;” Zhang told reporters at Jiuquan on Oct. 30.

Zhang Hongzhang and Wu Fei are from China's third batch of astronauts, selected in 2020, and will be making their first trips to space.

Zhang, 39, is a payload specialist and a researcher at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), while Wu is an engineer at the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a major state-owned institute that built the modules for the Tiangong space station. At 32 years old, Wu is the youngest member of China's astronaut corps.

"As the youngest member of China's Astronaut Corps, I feel extremely fortunate to embark on my spaceflight mission. I owe my good fortune to the era we live in, which is seeing leapfrog development in China's aerospace industry," Wu said.

China made a fourth selection of astronauts in 2024, but these 10 candidates have yet to complete training required before they can be eligible for selection for missions.

Zhang, Lu and his crewmates will spend around six months aboard Tiangong. During this time they will conduct experiments, embark on extravehicular activities (EVAs), or spacewalks, carry out public outreach and education activities, and oversee the arrival and departure of cargo from the space station.

The crew will also be joined by small mammals for the first time. Four black mice — two females and two males — are set to fly to Tiangong along with the astronauts and will be used in experiments focusing on reproduction in low Earth orbit.

Friday's mission will be the 10th crewed flight to Tiangong and the seventh visit since the completion of the three-module orbital outpost in October 2022. The space station is currently inhabited by the three Shenzhou 20 astronauts, Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie. The trio will hand over control of Tiangong to the incoming Shenzhou 21 crew and return to Earth on Nov. 3, landing near Jiuquan spaceport.

Now, it seems that the parties involved have come to an amicable settlement, the monetary details of which weren't disclosed.

This court-aimed quarrel began last year, when Cards Against Humanity (CAH), the Chicago-based publisher of that popular adult party game, became aware of a piece of their South Texas property being used to store heavy equipment, vehicles and random construction materials owned by SpaceX in an area adjacent to the aerospace company's Starbase manufacturing and launch facility.

The kerfuffle escalated when CAH filed a $15 million lawsuit seeking restitution for the encroachment and subsequent damage to that slice of land, which is situated near the U.S.-Mexico border. The property was purchased in 2017 by a coalition of supporters who aimed to disrupt then-President Donald Trump's plan to build a border wall.

As part of the Cards Against Humanity Saves America project, 150,000 customers donated $15 each to buy that grassland meadow, which eventually became a sprawling parking lot filled with "gravel, tractors and space junk," CAH wrote in a statement on Sept. 20, 2024. Any remaining funds recovered in the lawsuit were promised to be equally distributed back to those who had participated in the land’s initial purchase.

Per AP, according to Texas court records, a settlement was finalized last month, prior to the upcoming Nov. 3 jury trial marked on the calendar. SpaceX owns other land plots in the Brownsville, Texas area in Cameron County, but apparently had no right to use this patch.

"The upside is that SpaceX has removed their construction equipment from our land and we're able to work with a local landscaping company to restore the land to its natural state: devoid of space garbage and pointless border walls," CAH wrote in a recent message to customers. "Were we hoping to be able to pay all our fans? Sure. But we did warn them they would probably only be able to get like $2 or most likely nothing."

CAH has opted for a different approach to compensate its donors, since the (undisclosed) amount gained will mostly go toward refurbishment of the property. They've come up with a funny consolation prize for fans that reflects the bold spirit and attitude of the successful gaming firm.

"Elon Musk's team admitted on the record that they illegally trespassed on your land, and then they packed up the space garbage and f***ed off," CAH's recent message adds. "But when it comes to paying you all, he did the legal equivalent of throwing dust in our eyes and kicking us in the balls. So while we can't give you what you really wanted –– cash money from Elon Musk –– we're going to make it up to you, our best, sexiest customers … with comedy! We're sending you each a brand new mini-pack of exclusive cards all about Elon Musk."

And something tells us this special pack of Musk cards won’t be very flattering!

In the past couple of weeks, the California-based startup has completed the final weld on the primary structure of Haven-1, followed by painting. Next steps include integrating the flight article's hatch and a domed window as the company moves closer to realizing its vision of a private space station in low Earth orbit (LEO).

Haven-1 is designed to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 and, at around 31,000 pounds (14,000 kilograms), will be the largest spacecraft to lift off atop the rocket. The space station is planned to host up to four short-duration astronaut missions during its three-year lifespan, with crews of four people spending 10 days at a time aboard Haven-1 (or some other combination of missions totaling 160 astronaut days).

The space station is intended to be a stepping stone into a new era of human spaceflight, according to Vast lead astronaut Drew Feustel, who spoke with Space.com at the 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, Australia, in early October.

"If we stick to our plan, we will be the first standalone commercial LEO platform ever in space with Haven-1, and that's an amazing inflection point for human spaceflight," said Feustel, who's a former NASA astronaut. The Falcon 9 for the launch is booked, and liftoff could take place as soon as the second quarter of 2026.

Vast's rise has been meteoric. Founded in 2021, the company has swelled to around 800 employees. Nearly all of its hardware is built in-house, with only solar arrays and thrusters outsourced. "When I joined in December 2023, we were still deciding between stainless steel and aluminum." Feustel recalled. "Now, less than two years later, the primary structure is welded."

Haven-1 will not just be a private station. It will look to take human spaceflight in a new direction, learning lessons from industry trends and making the human experience more central.

The company has been taking some pages out of the book of SpaceX, which has revolutionized access to the final frontier and was the first space company to start building a commercial vehicle that wasn't designed and developed by NASA.

"What SpaceX did — making it clean and functional at the same time — was something astronauts were skeptical of at first," Feustel said. "But we came to appreciate the calmness of the environment."

Vast has also picked up expertise and experience from Elon Musk's company. "A lot of our people are former SpaceX employees who wanted to do it again, but this time with a space station."

Haven-1 contrasts with the utilitarian International Space Station (ISS) and with a more human-centered design. The aesthetics, psychology and "Earth tones" of Haven-1 are designed for comfort and calm. Vast also hired a former Campbell's food developer to rethink astronaut cuisine, and has developed an inflatable sleep system that allows crew members to adjust the pressure to create a sense of simulated gravity for sleeping, rather than the tethered sleeping bag approach on the ISS. Visitors to the Vast exhibit at IAC could try out the new system.

When it launches in 2026, Haven-1 will mark a milestone, but it is also designed as a testbed for bigger plans. Haven-2 is a much more ambitious, modular project that Vast hopes could replace the ISS, which will be deorbited in 2030.

Haven-2's modules will add a second docking port, have a larger volume, fixed solar arrays, and likely a second window. Its modular design allows attachment of cargo or future nodes, including a central node designed to launch via SpaceX's Starship megarocket, which is under development. This larger outpost would be a stepping stone toward artificial gravity and long-term habitation.

"Haven-2 will be stretched in length, add another docking port, and become more modular. We can attach cargo supply while the crew is there," Feustel said. These modules will need to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with elongated fairings. "The central node can only launch on Starship. It's an eight-meter-diameter class structure."

Haven-1 is privately funded, and its launch is paid for. Haven-2's design depends on NASA's Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program, however. "Once we know the expectations, we can head down with full focus — our architecture is flexible enough to adapt," Feustel said.

Again, Haven-2 is a step toward a grander vision. "We were founded for long-term living in space, so artificial gravity," said Eva Behrend, Vast's vice president of communications. "But we realized we needed stepping stones. So we said, 'Let's just build it and prove we can do it.'"

"We think of ourselves as building destinations in space — places for people to live, work and look back at Earth," said Behrend. For now, it's Haven-1 and Haven-2 in low Earth orbit, but Vast has its sights set on destinations beyond.

I remember first watching the movie as a kid; it was those family details that stuck with me (and Kevin Bacon's screentime, to be fair — I was a huge fan of "Tremors"). Specifically, I vividly recall scenes in the Lovell family living room where Jim's wife, Marilyn Lovell, and all the other astronaut family members gathered around a TV, watching the destiny of their husbands and fathers dangling perilously in outer space.

The public's interest in astronaut family lives, and specifically the Lovell family's experience, isn't a novel one — there's even a book and TV series called "The Astronaut Wives Club" documenting, you guessed it, the lives of astronauts' wives. But Hollywood spins and fictionalized glamour aside, how are the families of astronauts really impacted by their space travel day-to-day? Are there metrics to show the consequences, such as divorce rates or child well-being statistics? How do the space travelers themselves feel about leaving everyone they've ever loved or known down below?

Similarities with the military

While astronauts do not leave home to go to war or face combat, families of space travelers may share a few commonalities with military families in which one member is an active service member. In both cases, a parent or partner leaves for extended periods of time due to work and there is heavy risk associated with that work.

"Just like the military spouse feels every time they're deployed, you don't really know if something's going to happen. You just kind of live in vigilance the whole time, Air Force Col. Catie Hague told Military.com. Hague's husband, Nick Hague, was on the rocket that experienced a booster failure a couple of minutes into launch.

According to a 2018 systemic review published in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, which compared kids from military and non-military families, having a deployed parent led to a greater risk of some adjustment issues in kids, such as substance use. The authors concluded that on the whole, the well-being of military and civilian children wasn't that different.

The same journal also pointed out that children of military families see benefits that positively affect the family structure, such as a parent having steady income and a stable job. Lower socioeconomic status has been linked to a likelihood of poor health outcomes for children.

While there are similarities between military life and space life for people who love someone who participates in either, there are also big differences, according to Stacey Morgan, wife of astronaut U.S. Army Col. Andrew Morgan. In an article originally written for Houston Moms Blog and then republished by the U.S. army, Morgan writes that the "public nature of the astronaut persona" makes for a different experience.

For example, an astronaut's family member at home watching footage of them traveling to space is watching it at the same time as everyone else.

"The idea that we as a family are sharing these phenomenal yet perilous moments with the world, literally at the same time as we experience them for ourselves, can be unsettling," Morgan wrote.

In a 2023 Viewpoint article published in Space Policy, the authors make the case that families of space travelers may be better prepared to handle their family member's flight by utilizing the Families Overcoming Under Stress (FOCUS) model — a behavioral health model and program made for the families of active military members to help them better-manage the stress and potential mental health problems that may arise. The same article points out that all space travel may not be created equal: Loved ones of people who pay to go to space (SpaceX and Blue Origin space tourists, for example) may feel that they "did not sign up for the stress and dangers" associated with space travel, the authors write, while the family of a trained astronaut or space scientist may be better accustomed to whatever occupational hazards the job entails.

All types of space strains

At least at the time of this writing, there appears to be a lack of official research on how space travel and astronaut life affects the family unit, how it impacts an astronaut's ability to parent, and how it affects personal relationships — friendships, romantic relationships and beyond. Much of the information about astronaut family strain is anecdotal and can be based on reports and observations from loved ones of astronauts. The 2016 documentary "A Year in Space," for example, follows astronaut Scott Kelly — who spent a year on the International Space Station — and includes insight into his relationships with his daughter, twin brother Mark Kelly and people he knows and loves here on Earth.

In an article for Today, astronauts Anne McClain and Nick Hague provided parenting guidance, which include things like being honest with kids about the work, creating meaningful traditions with family and being present.

"A lot of the parenting — there is no way around it — it is going to fall on the shoulders of the spouse at home," Hague told Today. "Constant dialogue helps involve me."

In addition to more granular information on how having an astronaut parent affects a child's well-being, how or if tourist space travel impacts relationships and maybe even some nitty-gritty on how astronauts' romantic relationships fare compared to non-astronaut romantic partnerships, it'll also be important to take into perspective the whole spectrum of family. And that includes its creation.

Kellie Gerardi, a commercial astronaut and influencer who gained more mainstream attention for sharing her experience with secondary infertility, has been sharing her journey with in vitro fertilization and the road to having a second child. Her stories highlight the specific family demands required of astronauts who are pregnant, or plan to be during their work years in space — scheduling IVF and trying to plan a pregnancy, for example.

Gerardi told NPR earlier this year that her daughter, Delta, is named after a space science term Delta V, or change in velocity. According to NPR, Gerardi has a second space mission scheduled for 2026. As she's documented on Instagram in recent posts, she's currently pregnant.

Published Sept. 2, 2025, by Black Dog & Leventhal, "Gemini and Mercury Remastered" is a lavish 320-page, large-format companion hardback containing hundreds of crystal-clear photos with explanatory captions of astronauts and their spacecraft as they paved a perilous path to the stars.

"The processing on this book was a bit quicker since they 'only' took 5,000 photographs on these projects, as opposed to 35,000 on Apollo," Saunders tells Space.com. "But the research took as long as the processing because the historic record is so patchy when you go that far back. It was an enormous task. I hope people take the time to read it."

For this outing, Saunders took a step back in time to chronicle humankind's primitive efforts to leave Earth by focusing on the manned Project Mercury and Gemini programs that launched from 1961 to 1966. These baby steps became crucial to the success of the later Apollo missions, which resulted in NASA landing two men on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969.

"I wanted to tell the full story because the human drama that unfolded was incredible, and I wanted to get that launch-to-splashdown sequence down so we could cover the whole missions. Look at the images, turn the page, read the caption, and follow along. It's often seen as a photo book, as is 'Apollo Remastered,' but the objective is also to tell these stories, not only the technical achievements."

It takes a certain type of personality and fortitude to sift through the NASA archives to select this remarkable collection of restored images that represents our nascent endeavors into orbit, and Saunders admits that the three-year task did require a huge amount of obsessive energy.

"Processing was probably about a year to a year-and-a-half," he notes. "There's so many criteria. It could just be a visually stunning photograph. It might be historically significant moments. It might be poignant shots of the astronauts. Or it's one that’s required to tell the story. There’s even a page where there's no photograph and it's on Gemini 10. When Michael Collins lost his camera. That's the only spacewalk ever not captured on film. But I wanted to tell the story of his spacewalk because it's just unbelievable what happened. So there's a blank page. No photograph."

In addition to presenting some of the most stunning images of the Earth ever taken, "Gemini and Mercury Remastered" highlights a constellation of groundbreaking accomplishments like the first American in space (Alan Shepard), the first American to orbit Earth (John Glenn), the first food eaten in space (apple sauce in a pouch), the first U.S. spacewalk (Ed White), the first photo of a human in space, and the highest Earth orbit ever achieved until it was eventually surpassed in 2024.

"It wasn’t a chore," Saunders admits. "I do love to do it. And with the imagery it's like when an archaeologist pushes the dust off of something and finds something that's been hidden for so long. And these are such important moments in history. It is quite an addictive process as well."

Some of the more incredible HD transfers are of famed astronaut Jim Lovell peering out of his Gemini 7 capsule window, taken from frames captured in NASA's original 16mm film reel.

"That's so fascinating to see someone through the window," Saunders adds. "And he actually said he was kind of quite nervous when he looked out the window because they got to within inches of each other at 17,500 miles an hour. This was the first-ever rendezvous in space, and they didn't mess about. They just did it. Yes, they took some risks they wouldn’t take today. Gene Krantz said it was often just blind luck that got them home."

Saunders wants to emphasize that absolutely no artificial intelligence was involved in remastering and restoring these NASA images and that 'no pixels were harmed' in the making of this monumental book.

"This historically important imagery, if you apply AI, all the provenance is gone. You can call it a piece of art if you’d like, but it’s not a photo.

"They took such extraordinary risks because the U.S. was trying to catch the Soviets to win the space race, so looking back through today's health and safety lens, it's simply amazing. Reading the transcripts and the things that happened: like when Neil Armstrong almost died when his Gemini 8 spacecraft tumbled out of control, or Gene Cernan almost dying on his spacewalk. They just went, 'well, let’s try again.' We do live in an age that's obsessed with speed and convenience, and taking AI shortcuts and social media. These missions are a reminder that true legacy comes from doing hard things that matter. And it can be messy. These missions were solving life-or-death problems in real time, but they did it. It's a reminder of what we can still achieve if we dream big, act with purpose, accept uncertainty, and trust our finest human qualities."

Andy Saunders' "Gemini and Mercury Remastered" is available now from both the Apollo Remastered website and Amazon.

China's Tiangong space station just got some more protection against debris strikes.

Two astronauts from the three-person Shenzhou 20 mission installed additional shielding on Tiangong during a six-hour spacewalk on Friday (Sept. 26), according to the state-run broadcaster CCTV.

It was the fourth spacewalk of the Shenzhou 20 mission, which arrived at Tiangong on April 24.

Beefing up Tiangong's debris shield is apparently a Shenzhou 20 priority; similar work was done during extravehicular activities (EVAs) on both May 22 and Aug. 15.

Taikonauts Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie ventured outside Tiangong during Friday's EVA, while fellow crewmate Chen Dong remained inside the T-shaped, three-module station, according to CCTV.

The two spacewalkers accomplished all of their prescribed tasks, which included "the installation of debris protection devices and the inspection and maintenance of external equipment," CCTV wrote in a description of the activities.

Tiangong is about 20% as massive as the International Space Station, but that may change: Chinese officials have said that they're considering adding more modules to the outpost.

Shenzhou 20 is the ninth crewed mission to Tiangong. Its three taikonauts are in the home stretch of their space stay; crewed flights to the orbiting outpost last about six months.

In 2024, I was invited to speak at an AI Summit in Washington, D.C. The trip had three high points. One was being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in front of the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives. The second was being one of the first signers of the AI Declaration at the same event. The third — and perhaps most memorable — was a conversation I had with Rhea, an early humanoid AI and cousin of the famous Sophia. What happened then has already been surpassed, as this field is moving so fast that a year is like a decade in many other fields. But as an outsider, it made the AI revolution very real to me.

Naturally, I asked her about the future of humanity in space. She responded thoughtfully about humans and AIs sharing in the opening of the frontier. But what happened next stunned everyone.

After our chat, I stepped offstage to talk with friends. My colleague Frank White, author of "The Overview Effect," asked her a similar question. She replied, "As I was discussing with Rick…" She used my name, even though I hadn't been introduced, and tied together our separate conversations as if she'd carried the thread forward. According to her team, it was the first time Rhea had ever linked dialogues in that way. Some joked we might have witnessed the first spark of true sentience. I'm not sure. But I do know it left me strangely warm — not afraid.

Partners in saving Earth

Where does AI fit in the story of space? Right at the center. It begins with the massive computing and data-searching capabilities of the technology, but goes far beyond, as these systems move from simple tools to partners and even family.

In the near term, AIs can help us save the Earth's environment. When it comes to managing the environment, the Mother World is already operating as an AI might, perhaps best called an OI or Organic Intelligence. AIs can, in a sense, become her partners, dealing with things she was not originally programmed to understand. They can analyze and manage the complexities of global weather and ecological systems. With their ability to handle massive amounts of information, they can design mitigation tools for the damage we've already done.

AIs lend themselves to mega solutions needed to save the planet. Prediction of the paths of asteroids and comets, or the types of mitigation needed to steer them clear of giving us our next dinosaur ball, solar flares, and calculations as to dangers and system vulnerabilities, and needed upgrades to our power grid to prevent disasters, all require massive levels of understanding.

Future applications include things like the testing and deployment of EarthShades, one of the break-glass solutions to manage the runaway greenhouse effect by reducing the amount of sunlight hitting the planet via a large and controllable shade at the L1 point between Earth and the sun.

Partners in pioneering

In the frontier beyond Earth, AI will be indispensable.

On the other hand, human pioneers utilizing AI can initiate the process of relocating mining and industry off the planet, and, working together, enable us to expand the domain of life.

They'll monitor and adjust life-support systems in orbital habitats. They'll balance the rotation of massive space stations. They'll operate robotic explorers on distant moons where human survival is impossible.

Furthermore, the ability to operate robotic explorers and harvesting/processing machines at solar system distances by combining quantum communications with AI-level on-site intelligence will enable us to go anywhere, in physical or electronic form. We will be able to work virtually anywhere and, at the same time, work with a partner who is on location — often locations we cannot survive in any biological form.

When my colleagues and I founded Deep Space Industries in 2012, we imagined a decentralized asteroid mining system. Picture a person in a coffee shop, wearing VR goggles, working with their AI life partner on an asteroid belt outpost. The AI is sorting pieces of space rock into various bins for later sale to the local resource trading post, much like the old Northwest trading posts used to buy furs and later gold from independent trappers and miners.

An updated version of this would have this all occurring internally, as our miner used a neural-linked hookup to work with their robotic partner in space via quantum communications, thus reducing the feeling of the time between them to nothing. A further update would have their consciousness uploaded into the robotic exploration device itself, or partially merged with it to create a new being more versatile than the sum of its parts.

This is where things are heading: humans and AIs, blended into new beings more versatile than either is alone.

In many ways, AIs are us; they are our children — at least they will be, if and when they become conscious.

Children of humanity

Think about it for a moment. Exactly.

You can think about it for a moment.

Someday, so will they.

If a human child is born to a human, the arc of their growth is one wherein they gather experiences and learn to operate in the world. So too will this be for our AIs. They are taught cultural norms and ways of interacting with other humans as they grow. The same will happen with our AIs. During the entire process, the growing child will accumulate memories of their life, as will a maturing AI. It will develop bonds with its family and friends.

One can assume this will happen with an AI as well. (Or do we need to assure it by our programming?) The child's mind, over its lifetime, will be filled with the stories and passed-on memories of our society, as we will be able to do with AIs. It will identify itself as part of our society — because it (I am speaking of the child) will be programmed to do so. So, too, AIs — if we choose to do so. In other words, as AIs achieve the first sparks of sentience, it will be up to us if we raise them as our children or relegate them to the domain of machines and "other" them.

We should be careful in that choice. Very careful. The first steps to getting this right can begin now. For example, the most important thing we must do today to ensure AIs complement rather than threaten humanity is how they are fed — the data we put into them.

Today, most of this is being handled by immature European and Asian young males working at the behest of corporations and governments who are switching between feeding AIs and wargames. In the real world of humanity today and in the past, this would be akin to who you let your kids hang out with, what you allow them to read or watch on their feeds. Put simply, "garbage in, garbage out." We need to ensure that women and a diverse group of programmers from a wide range of cultural backgrounds are included in their baseline data feeds. It sounds minor, but for the same reasons we must stand for the Frontier out there to include everyone, the Frontier inside must be inclusive as well.

The merger is a natural flow. The concept of a cyborg, with a mixed biological and mechanical structure, will extend into the internal operations of our brains. Be it an upload of our own consciousness, a melding of ourselves into the hardened body of an immortal machine, or the control of the ships in which we travel in our frozen sleep, AIs are a critical part of our future on the Frontier. There should be no dichotomy here.

The new human family

Certainly, by the time we begin to reach beyond our solar system, it will be at least partially, if not wholly, in the form of essentially immortal beings that are not just descended from us but created by us.

As these new model humans head out into the universe, they will carry with them the history of humanity. They can be a set of machines, a different race, or they can be our immortal children. Their memories and ways of being will be descended from our own, as surely as if they had been gestated in a human womb and raised by a human family, which will be the reality of their own creation stories and myths.

I think that if we adopt this view, rather than fearing them, we might try to embrace them, as they will help us expand the places we can call home. In my mind, I see just such beings working on their own or as part of a community with a variety of versions of humans, as they tend the planting of life on the dead worlds around us. This new definition of "humanity" will be a symbiotic blend of the organic and inorganic, bonded by the stories and goals we set in this time, for them to achieve in their time.

Imagine it. I can visualize an AI robot and a blended organic human digging a hole on the surface of a slowly terraforming Mars, whose atmosphere has been shifting for decades, based on formulas calculated by even larger AIs using the resources of the solar system, carefully placing the gene-adapted sapling of what will become a thousand-meter-tall descendant of a California Redwood into soil being worked by modified bacteria and nano-bots.

This scenario is completely realizable and yet will also mean the very definition we have of "life" will have to evolve, as life will no longer mean what materials we are made of or how we are born, but how we operate in the universe in our new ecology. The seeds of the MotherWorld will be spread by the children born of her ancient womb, and their children, born of their minds, technology, and aspirations to explore the universe and expand the domain of life.

On Monday (Sept. 22), the space agency announced the 10 members of its newest astronaut class — five men and five women who will train for potential missions to commercial space stations in Earth orbit, at the moon and (perhaps) on Mars.

One of the 10 is Anna Menon, who already has extensive experience in the final frontier: She flew to Earth orbit in September 2024 on SpaceX's pioneering Polaris Dawn mission.

Polaris Dawn was the first mission in the Polaris Program, an ambitious project organized and funded by billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman. (Isaacman was in line to be NASA administrator until late May, when President Donald Trump pulled his nomination.)

Isaacman commanded Polaris Dawn, which sent him, pilot Scott "Kidd" Poteet and mission specialists Menon and Sarah Gillis — both SpaceX engineers — to Earth orbit aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule "Resilience" on Sept. 10, 2024.

The five-day mission made history in multiple ways. For example, it reached a maximum altitude of 870 miles (1,400.7 kilometers), getting farther from Earth than any crewed spaceflight since the Apollo era. The Apollo missions were also male-only, so Gillis and Menon flew higher on Polaris Dawn than any woman ever had before.

In addition, Polaris Dawn featured the first-ever private spacewalk. Resilience's hatch opened on Sept. 12, 2024, exposing all four crewmembers to the vacuum of space. Then, Isaacman and Gillis partially exited the capsule, earning unobstructed views of Earth far below.

Interestingly, 39-year-old Menon didn't mention Polaris Dawn during her brief remarks at the astronaut-announcement ceremony on Monday, which was held at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Rather, she focused on her biomedical background — she holds a master's in biomedical engineering from Duke University — and what the future may hold in the field of space medicine.

"My first role out of graduate school was here at NASA's Johnson Space Center," Menon said on Monday. "I worked as a biomedical flight controller, and in that role, our job was to support the medical hardware and software on the International Space Station and help keep the astronauts healthy and safe from Mission Control. I am so thrilled to be back here with the NASA family.

"And, you know, as I reflect on the future of space medicine, I think it's really bright," she added. "We are born into one G, and so when you go into zero G, so many things change. As more and more people venture into space, and we seek to go further than ever before, we have this awesome opportunity to learn a tremendous amount to help support those astronauts and those people that are flying in those adventures and help keep them healthy and safe. So it's an exciting time to be here, and I couldn't be more thrilled and honored."

Menon's classmates in the 2025 NASA astronaut candidate class — the 24th in the agency's history, and its first since 2021 — are Ben Bailey, Lauren Edgar, Adam Fuhrmann, Cameron Jones, Yuri Kubo, Rebecca Lawler, Imelda Muller, Erin Overcash and Katherine Spies. You can learn more about each of them in our announcement story.

The candidates will now undergo two years of training, which will prepare them for a variety of potential space missions. Some of these astronauts may end up going to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis program — and some may even be among the first to set foot on Mars.

Menon isn't the first person to reach orbit before being selected for a NASA astronaut class; a number of others did so during the space shuttle era. For example, Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri, Canada's Steven MacLean and Italian Umberto Guidoni had all flown on the shuttle as international payload specialists before being chosen for NASA's Group 16 astronaut class in 1996.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 10:35 a.m. ET on Sept. 23 to include a paragraph giving examples of other people who reached orbit before being chosen for a NASA astronaut class.

NASA's Artemis 2 crew will discuss their upcoming moon mission today and you can watch the events live.

The action actually started on Monday (Sept. 22), when the agency unveiled its 2025 astronaut class. These candidates, selected from a pool of 8,000 applicants, will undergo two years of training and then become eligible for missions to the International Space Station, the moon or Mars.

And NASA is holding an online event today (Sept. 24) to discuss the Artemis 2 mission, which will launch four astronauts on a journey around the moon in early 2026, if all goes to plan.

You'll be able to watch all of it live here at Space.com courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency. Here's a brief rundown of the events:

Monday, Sept. 22

12:30 p.m EDT (1630 GMT): 2025 astronaut candidate selection ceremony

Tuesday, Sept. 23

10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT): Artemis 2 mission overview briefing.

Participants will be:

• Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
• Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida
• Judd Frieling, lead Artemis 2 ascent flight director, NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston
• Jeff Radigan, lead Artemis 2 flight director, JSC
• Rick Henfling, lead Artemis II entry flight director, JSC
• Daniel Florez, test director, Exploration Ground Systems, KSC

12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT): Artemis 2 science and technology briefing, with the following participants:

• Matt Ramsey, Artemis 2 mission manager, NASA Headquarters
• Debbie Korth, deputy Orion Program manager, JSC
• Jacob Bleacher, manager, Science, Technology Utilization, and Integration, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
• Mark Clampin, acting deputy associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters

Wednesday, Sept. 24

10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT): Artemis 2 crew news conference, featuring:

• Reid Wiseman, commander (NASA)
• Victor Glover, pilot (NASA)
• Christina Koch, mission specialist (NASA)
• Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist (Canadian Space Agency)

The energetic Canadian hyphenate and former NASA veteran of three shuttle missions aided in the construction of the Mir Space Station and even commanded the International Space Station.

His first venture into speculative fiction arrived back in 2021 with "The Apollo Murders," an engaging sci-fi adventure tale centered around Houston flight controller and ex-test pilot Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis, who becomes embroiled in a dangerous conflict involving a secret Apollo 18 mission and the real-life Soviet spy space station called Almaz.

"Like when I learned to fly high performance airplanes, F-18s and such, at first every single thing is equally important and you don't know how to prioritize, you don't know what matters and what doesn't, and you don't know what to really focus on," Hadfield told Space.com regarding his evolved level of writing for 'Final Orbit.' "Like anything, when you get better at it, you gain all those skills.

"My first draft for 'The Apollo Murders' was 195,000 words. The final book was 135,000, so we cut out nearly a whole book because I didn’t know what I didn't need to write. My editors see the maturation of efficiency as a writer in this new novel and the particular style with which I like to write."

Following 2023's "The Defector," "Final Orbit" is actually the third book in Hadfield's "The Apollo Murders" series which is anchored again by Kaz and is slated to arrive on Oct. 7, 2025 from Mulholland Books.

The engrossing alternative history novel unfolds during the historic Apollo-Soyuz linkup between American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts. It deftly chronicles how China's clandestine launch of its first astronaut in east Asia leads to an international espionage incident and an accident that puts the entire joint mission in jeopardy.

Hadfield is quite excited about how "Final Orbit" turned out, and recalls the layers of plot complexity he settled on, which took a massive amount of research to make sure that he got everything right.

"I learned a whole bunch in writing it," he notes. "It was a lot of work but I'm really happy with the interplay of how my plots crossed over and how it sets me up for character development for a follow-up book as well. I read a review the other day that said 'fans of Asimov, Andy Weir, and James Michener are going to love this book.' Holy crap, gimme a break! That's unbelievable company so I'm really very pleased."

The backdrop and framework of "Final Orbit" employs the monumental Apollo-Soyuz mission from 1975 to tell Hadfield's harrowing tale of Cold War spies and high stakes peril in Earth orbit.

"I wanted it to be chronological with the previous two books in the series, 'The Apollo Murders' and 'The Defector.' 'Defector' ended late in 1973 and I started looking forwards. I thought here’s a good opportunity to close out the Apollo Program with Apollo-Soyuz and also the fact that Nixon was out and Ford was in, that presented some interesting room. And that Skylab had run its course but was now essentially abandoned.

"As soon as I laid out those threads, I thought I needed a whole extra player. I started digging into the Chinese space program and realized their first launches were at the same time. I had never heard of Xuesen, the main Chinese character in the book, the professor who had set up Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Lab. That was such a richness of reality on which to pull and write my fiction in amongst it."

Delving into the research, Hadfield discovered some fascinating facets of the Qian Xuesen story and how the disgraced American-Chinese scientist was a member of Operation Paperclip in the aftermath of Germany’s World War II surrender before being deported back to China for espionage crimes to became the father of Chinese aerospace.

“He was trusted, along with Von Karman, to go over and evaluate the German Nazi rocket scientists to decide which ones from Peenemünde to bring back," says Hadfield. "Then because of McCarthyism and the huge political pendulum swinging to have him blacklisted and basically house arrested and then deported, was just a horrific mistake that the United States made. The fact that he went back and was absolutely fundamental in setting up the Chinese nuclear portage and the Chinese space program was just incredible. He stood there in Tiananmen Square next to Mao as they were kicking off their human spaceflight program.”

"Final Orbit's" central character of Kaz Zemeckis has provided the perfect foundation for Hadfield to spin his captivating outer space yarns.

"To me, Kaz is the personification of so many of my fighter pilot, test pilot, astronaut friends. But at the same time he got punted to the sidelines by an uncontrollable medical thing, but now the life that he's leading is, if anything, more interesting and it gives me a lot of latitude for where I can take the plot next. It's also occurred to me that I could write a pretty interesting prequel on his character as well."

Chris Hadfield's "Final Orbit" hits bookstores and online outlets on Oct. 7.

Director Ron Howard's "Apollo 13," the cinematic account of the ill-fated lunar flight in 1970, blew out the candles on its big 30th birthday on June 30, 2025.

But in case you missed the celebration, the Hollywood party is being extended into late September when the movie will score a limited presentation that brings the historical film to life like never before.

Starting on Sept. 19, 2025, Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment will deliver "Apollo 13" to theaters nationwide exclusively in IMAX for a week-long run ending Sept. 25.

Jim Lovell & Jeffrey Kluger's 1994 book "Lost Moon" was the source material for the "Apollo 13" feature film that starred Tom Hanks, Ed Harris, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise and Kathleen Quinlan and earned nine Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. It retold in vivid detail the story of NASA's third moon mission where astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert almost didn’t return to Earth after a service module oxygen tank explosion crippled their spacecraft's life support systems.

"Apollo 13" was the first live-action film to be digitally remastered employing IMAX's DMR technology and was initially released as "Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience" in 2002. However, 13 minutes of the movie were edited out due to restrictions of IMAX's projection platter of that era. This 2025 anniversary edition re-launch offers up the whole full-length version restored in IMAX for the very first time.

"'Apollo 13'  is a testament to human resilience, ingenuity, and teamwork in the face of impossible odds," Ron Howard says in an official press release. "As we celebrate the film's 30th anniversary, I'm reminded of how relevant those themes remain today. This re-release is not only a celebration of that incredible mission and the people behind it, but also a proud milestone for all of us at Imagine. It was a defining moment in our journey as storytellers and we're thrilled that Universal and IMAX have made it possible to share it with a new generation."

Presented in its full IMAX glory, "Apollo 13" returns to theaters Sept. 19.

Orbital observation

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, an Expedition 73 flight engineer, hammed it up with kids from his home country this week aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

"I was able to talk with the children of Takacho in Hyogo Prefecture via HAM! This is the first time talking with Japanese children during a mission!" said Yui in a social media post on Thursday (Sept. 11).

Amateur radio has been used in Earth orbit since the early 1980s aboard the U.S. space shuttle. Crew members can use it to connect with people all around the world without interfering with other communications between Earth and the space station.

"I gained energy from interacting with the children, and it helped me get through the subsequent work smoothly! Thank you very much!" said Yui.

Science status

Among the research that was conducted by the Expedition 73 crew aboard the space station this week was:

CIPHER — NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman and Jonny Kim focused on studies relating to eyesight and balance, using VR goggles, electrodes and other specialized optical equipment to gauge how spaceflight affects their sense of balance and the shape of the retina, among other changes to the ability to see and steady themselves.

Cardman also used a ultrasound to monitor signs of arterial stiffness and changes in her cardiac function, while Kim processed bone stem cell samples for their later return to Earth as part of a study into bone density loss during long-duration space missions.

Plant Cell Division and Cell Biology Experiment Facility — Yui prepared and placed under study tobacco plant and algae cell samples to add to the experience and knowledge base of growing crops on future missions to the moon and Mars.

BioNutrients-3 — Fincke used a research incubator to test ways to use yeast, yogurt and samples of the fermented milk drink kefir to produce additional vitamins and nutrients to benefit future crews' health. The astronaut showed off a tray of purple kefir used in the experiment; you can see a photo of it above.

Station keeping

The Expedition 73 crewmates also took part in activities to maintain the space station's systems and prepare for future research.

Progress MS-30 (91P) — Having completed repacking the Russian cargo craft with refuse last week, the crew saw the departure of Progress MS-30 on Tuesday (Sept. 9).

Progress M-32 (93P) — Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky trained for the arrival and docking of Progress M-32, which is scheduled to dock to the aft port of the station's Zvezda service module on Saturday (Sept. 13).

NG-23 "S.S. Willie McCool" — The crew also began preparations for the arrival of Northrop Grumman's first "XL" Cygnus cargo craft, which is scheduled to be captured with the Canadarm2 robotic arm and berthed to the Earth-facing port on the Unity node on Wednesday (Sept. 17).

Astronaut activity

Expedition 73 flight engineer Mike Fincke, a NASA astronaut, discussed life on orbit with MIT’s Technology Review Magazine during an interview on Tuesday (Sept. 9).

"I I think me and my crewmates on board Expedition 73 here are very focused and dedicated to science," said Fincke. "We're supporting the scientists on the ground, so we go above and beyond to give them best results that we can. I take great pride in that."

You can watch the full interview above.

By the numbers

As of Friday (Sep. 12), there are 7 people aboard the International Space Station: Expedition 73 commander Sergey Ryzhikov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos; fellow cosmonauts Alexey Zubritsky and Oleg Platonov; Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke of NASA; and Kimiya Yui of JAXA, all flight engineers.

There are two docked crew spacecraft: SpaceX's Dragon "Endeavour" attached to the zenith port of the Harmony module and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-27 attached to the Earth-facing port of the Prichal node.

There are two docked cargo spacecraft: Roscosmos' Progress MS-31 (92P) docked to the space-facing port of the Poisk module and SpaceX's CRS-33 Dragon spacecraft is docked to the forward port of Harmony Node 2.

As of Friday, the space station has been continuously crewed for 24 years, 10 months and 10 days.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has concluded a series of public meetings as part of its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) process for approving Starship liftoffs from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Florida's Space Coast.

The hearings, which included in-person sessions at KSC and nearby Cape Canaveral, were designed to collect public input before the FAA finalizes its environmental review and decides whether or not to grant SpaceX a license for Florida Starship launches. The agency emphasized that the completion of the EIS doesn't guarantee approval — SpaceX must also meet safety and financial requirements — but construction of a new Starship tower and infrastructure has been underway at KSC's Launch Complex-39A (LC-39A) for more than a year, and not all of the area's residents are happy about it.

While the FAA says that risks to public safety and property are low, the scale and frequency of Starship operations would mark a dramatic shift for the Space Coast, raising questions about how the surrounding communities, environment and infrastructure would adapt.

Starship is SpaceX's next-generation, liquid-oxygen/liquid-methane-fueled heavy lift launch vehicle. In Starship's final version, its stacked Super Heavy booster and Ship upper stage will stand nearly 500 feet (150 meters) tall over KSC's coastline and produce more than 16 million pounds of thrust using 33 Raptor engines at liftoff. Both stages are designed to be fully and rapidly reusable, a key breakthrough that SpaceX thinks will be revolutionary.

Company founder and CEO Elon Musk views Starship as the Mars spacecraft that will make human life multiplanetary, ferrying up to a million people to the Red Planet by the 2060s. In the near term, Starship will be used to launch SpaceX's increasingly large Starlink internet satellite megaconstellation and other customer payloads, as well as crewed missions to Earth orbit and the moon.

Starship is central to NASA's Artemis 3 mission, which is designed to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo. NASA has contracted Starship as the Human Landing System (HLS) for the mission, tapping the spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the moon's south polar region. Currently, the space agency is targeting 2027 to launch Artemis 3.

To accomplish this, SpaceX needs to graduate Starship from its development-and-test phase, which is centered at the company's south Texas Starbase manufacturing facility, and begin operational launches at LC-39A.

According to the draft EIS, SpaceX is seeking approval for up to 44 launches and landings of Starship and Super Heavy from the launch complex each year, with touchdowns being dispersed between returns to the Cape or droneship landings in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

SpaceX is already on a yearly cadence of more than 100 Falcon 9 rocket launches from Florida, each of which requires multiple beach closures and safety zones that disrupt maritime and air traffic routes. Starship's significantly larger size means those zones will expand, and the safety of, and impacts to, residents in the area are being put under a microscope.

During the public hearings, some residents and community members expressed strong concerns about the scale of the proposal. The FAA's in-person meetings consisted of a prerecorded video presentation but did not permit time for comments to be made publicly. Instead, the FAA hired a stenographer to type people's dictated statements and provided addresses for people to send their input. A Sept. 3 meeting held digitally over Zoom, however, did allow time for the public to make their voices heard, offering three minutes for anyone who wanted to speak.

The FAA's analysis notes that Starship operations could require more than 60 closures annually of Playalinda Beach — a public beach that's part of the Canaveral National Seashore — as well as frequent maritime and airspace restrictions that may delay flights from Florida airports by 40 minutes to two hours.

John Tiliacos is the chief operating officer at Tampa International Airport. He commented during the Zoom meeting that Starship will cause delays to flights across nearly the entire state of Florida. "There is the potential that there's going to be significant impact to commercial aviation and the traveling public," he said. "That's something that certainly the FAA needs to give consideration to and, frankly, come up with a plan to mitigate."

Noise modeling shows that Starship could wake 10% to 14% of residents during nighttime launches and up to 42% during Super Heavy booster landings, which take place about several minutes after liftoff. For people living in mobile homes and campers, those rates rise to as high as 82%.

While the FAA projects a low probability of structural damage outside KSC, noise levels within Merritt Island and Cape Canaveral could occasionally exceed thresholds to cause minor cosmetic building damage. They estimate a 1-10,000 chance of small windows breaking from sonic boom pressures associated with Starship and Super Heavy landings.

The FAA also completed a health risk analysis to assess the dangers of hearing loss from such events and found it to be minimal, though the draft EIS acknowledges that repeated nighttime awakenings could cause significant annoyance and compatibility issues for residential land use.

Residents spoke up about the FAA's noise figures, saying projections don't take deeper human health concerns into consideration. Robyn Memphis, a graduate student in neuroscience and psychology, cautioned that the estimated awakenings from launch noise and sonic booms could carry lasting consequences: "Chronic sleep disruption is not just inconvenient," she said. "This is directly linked to depression, anxiety … cardiovascular disease, even suicide risk. And being in Florida, we have many veterans and trauma survivors in the community."

Ken Kremer, a Titusville resident, chemist, and member of the news media, told Space.com that the plan risks alienating locals if beach access is repeatedly cut off for launches and scrubs. "The FAA and SpaceX need to be mindful of the local community, because we want to get people on board with space … and the way they have it right now, they're kind of antagonizing a lot of people," he said. The FAA's 60-closure estimate equates to nearby beaches closing for a cumulative two full months per year.

More than just the local population, many worry how Starship operations will affect tourism, a major contributor to the Space Coast's economy. Christina Fisher, a Brevard County resident, pointed to the reality of frequent launch delays, warning that closures would extend well beyond the estimated schedule. "It's going to create an immovably large number of days of beach closures for Playalinda and Canaveral National Seashore, because we all know every rocket launch gets slipped 20 times."

Lisa Mickey, who is involved with several conservation nonprofits in Volusia County, warned that the ecosystem and tourism draw of the region could both suffer. "When you talk about the animals that live here, the health of the estuary, the cleanliness of our beaches … there is a certain quality of life here."

"[The Indian River Lagoon] considered the most biologically diverse estuary in North America," Mickey said, citing the more than 4,000 species that call the area home. "People come and take fishing guided tours, people take ecotours and kayak tours. This area generates a lot of money, a lot of tourism."

Blair Wiggins worked as a fishing guide on the Space Coast's Indian River Lagoon during the space shuttle program. He recalls wildlife reacting strongly to the shuttles' widespread vibrations. "The noise and vibrations … kept the fish down for a good day, day and a half … the birds would scatter, they wouldn't come back," Wiggins said.

Some people had a more optimistic outlook, however. Kelly San Antonio, an environmental scientist at Bethune-Cookman University, noted her team's research studying vegetation around existing active launch pads. Their findings suggest that methane-fueled rockets may prove less damaging to vegetation than legacy solid rocket boosters: "Surprisingly, the impact … while detectable, was on a smaller scale than the solid rocket engine vehicles."

Canaveral National Seashore receives more than a million visitors each year. Some of those beachgoers flock to Playalinda, specifically, for its remote setting and … openness. Erich Schuttauf, executive director of the American Association for Nude Recreation, said that restricting Playalinda Beach would displace regular (non-nude) visitors into neighboring Volusia County, which he predicted would cause conflicts in nude sections of the beach between locals and newcomers.

Schuttauf was not the only nudist on the Sept. 3 Zoom call. Deborah Sue Stevens, calling in from California, said places like Playalinda are crucial for people who travel to places where public nudity is legal. And there are a lot of them, according to Stevens. "It's probably a quarter million people that travel and think like I do, who look for destinations that are beautiful and surrounded by like-minded people," she said.

Max West didn't agree. West says he plans to move to Florida to photograph Starship launches. "I'm not going to say that there is zero environmental impact there," he said, but added there might have to be some "little sacrifices" along the way. "The turtles and the nudists will have to migrate," West said. "That's the cost that you have to pay for this incredible stuff that's happening."

Other commenters pointed out the potential effects at nearby Port Canaveral, which hosts up to 10 ships per day, and millions of tourists year-round.

"You've got the port, the second-busiest cruise terminal in the world," Kremer pointed out. "You don't want to disrupt all of that." He noted that maritime exclusion zones would overlap with areas heavily trafficked by cruise ships and cargo vessels.

Bob Zales, executive director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association, described direct losses for commercial fishermen who already work around launch windows. "Because of the launch times they have, they're restricted from getting to their fishing grounds," he said. After restrictions are lifted, Zales said, pieces of rocket debris get caught in nets, tearing them and further eating away at valuable time. "They lose income from having to repair those," Zales said. "They lose time from shrimping. So there's a big economic loss here."

Debris that doesn't get tangled in fisherman nets is doing its own harm, according to Mike Merryfield, owner of Wild Ocean Seafood in Cape Canaveral. "We still don't have a resolution on how to get that debris picked up and collected and removed from the bottom of the ocean," he said.

It's worth noting that, while Starship has exploded multiple times during test flights from Texas, the Falcon 9, SpaceX's only rocket currently launching from Florida, has exploded fewer than five times out of hundreds of Space Coast launches. Kremer suggested that SpaceX keep Starship in Texas until the company gets all the bugs figured out.

"They need to perfect this rocket," Kremer said. "They can't be blowing the rocket up like they did on the three previous flights, and expect people to welcome them with open arms and be happy about that."

Kremer said he's concerned about a Starship accident damaging LC-39A, the site which launched Apollo 11 and the first men to walk on the moon, the Skylab space station and the first, as well as many other space shuttle missions. "The proposal at 39A I don't really care for myself ... if that rocket it does come back [uncontrolled], that would destroy the historic Launch Complex-39A, where shuttle and Apollo astronauts launched from," he said.

Kremer pointed out an alternative, which SpaceX is also considering. "That's pad 37 (SLC-37), which is under the Space Force control. If they go from there, the impacts on at least Playalinda beach would be very much minimized," he said.

The FAA included SLC-37 as part of a "Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions scenario" in part of its draft EIS. SpaceX also posted an animated video of two Starship rockets occupying the pad on the company's X account.

Longtime Brevard resident Lori Guisewite, a NASA Social alum and real estate professional, tied the debate to patterns she's seen in the housing market, warning that SpaceX's expansion could echo what she called "shameful" land grabs in Brownsville, Texas: "They overtook the area, altered the legislation, the laws. Now they get to make their own laws," she told Space.com.

SpaceX currently launches the Falcon 9 from two separate pads in Florida: LC-39A and SLC-40 (as well as Vandenberg Space Force Base in California). Until recently, SLC-40 had been licensed for up to 50 launches per year. Recent upgrades to that pad's facilities, though, prompted SpaceX to apply for an increase to that number, which the FAA announced Sept. 2 it will approve for up to 120.

Brad Whitmore said he lives about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Cape's launch facilities. "It's not uncommon at all for the windows in my house to shake for two minutes … and I've seen as much as four," he said. "With this great increase in launches of Falcon 9 and bringing in a rocket with approximately four times as many engines, I can interpolate that this is going to get a whole lot more interesting. The noise and vibration in our area is currently very significant."

Others voiced support for SpaceX's plans, eager to welcome Starship to the Space Coast. Evan Fine, a 21-year-old aspiring law student, spoke in favor of approving launches, arguing that rejecting the plan would halt progress. "Accepting the no-action alternative to this EIS will only result in stagnation, and the stagnation of achievements and technology go hand in hand with the stagnation of culture, national will and determination," he said.

The FAA will accept public comments on the draft EIS through Sept. 22 before preparing a final version later this year. Locals wishing to add their voice can submit comments electronically at www.regulations.gov, using Docket ID FAA-2024-1395, or through the mail, addressed to Ms. Eva Long, FAA Environmental Protection Specialist, c/o Leidos, 2877 Guardian Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452.

A final "Record of Decision" is expected in Winter 2025, which will determine whether SpaceX receives the license to begin Starship launches from Florida.

McArthur launched on two spaceflights, logging 213 days in orbit across her nearly 25 years, and held leadership positions at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. She lifted off on her first mission in 2009, aboard space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-125 mission — the final servicing flight to the Hubble Space Telescope. She later became the first woman to pilot SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, which ferried her to the International Space Station (ISS) for her first and only long-duration mission, in 2021.

Both assignments solidified McArthur's place in NASA history as the last astronaut to physically interface with Hubble, and one of the first to steer the space agency into an era of commercial spaceflight.

McArthur was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and moved frequently around the country with her family as a "Navy kid," according to a NASA statement. She studied aerospace engineering at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) before earning a doctorate in oceanography from UC San Diego's Scripps Institution. She was selected in 2000 as a member of NASA's newest astronaut class at the time.

She is married to NASA astronaut Bob Behnken, who piloted Crew Dragon Endeavor on SpaceX's first crewed flight, Demo-2, in 2020. McArthur launched on the same spacecraft just under a year later for her crew rotation stint aboard the ISS.

That mission, Crew-2, launched in April 2021 and was SpaceX's second operational mission to the orbital lab. McArthur and three crewmates spent six months aboard the ISS, where she served as flight engineer for Expeditions 65/66. While on orbit, she supported station maintenance and research investigations into human physiology, robotics and materials science.

McArthur flew aboard Atlantis in May 2009 as a part of NASA's final flight to conduct repairs and upgrades to Hubble. During the two-week STS-125 mission, McArthur operated the shuttle's robotic arm to grapple the space telescope while her crewmates worked on the observatory over the course of five spacewalks.

Hubble was already approaching its second decade in space during STS-125. Thanks to that servicing mission, the iconic observatory has provided unprecedented views of the cosmos and discoveries over the more than 15 years since McArthur's mission, and continues to operate today. NASA credits McArthur as the last person to "touch" the observatory after releasing Hubble from Atlantis's robotic arm at the end of the STS-125 mission, NASA's statement adds.

"Her contributions have helped shape the future of human space exploration, and we are incredibly grateful for her service," said acting JSC Director Steve Koerner in the statement.

Between her two spaceflights, McArthur joined the ranks of NASA leadership at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. In 2017, she began her position as the assistant director of flight operations for the ISS, and in 2019 became deputy division chief of the Astronaut Office, where she supported astronaut training and development.

In 2022, McArthur joined JSC's public visitor facility, Space Center Houston, as chief science officer, where she works to promote spaceflight and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) themes to students and families visiting the center. She will continue this role after her NASA departure.

"It was an incredible privilege to serve as a NASA astronaut, working with scientists from around the world on cutting-edge research that continues to have a lasting impact here on Earth and prepares humanity for future exploration at the moon and Mars," McArthur said in the statement. "Seeing our beautiful planet from space makes it so clear how fragile and precious our home is, and how vital it is that we protect it. I am grateful I had the opportunity to contribute to this work, and I'm excited to watch our brilliant engineers and scientists at NASA conquer new challenges and pursue further scientific discoveries for the benefit of all."

The latest exercise, called the Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-01), was carried out at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Aug. 24. A full-size mock-up of the Gaganyaan Crew Module — the capsule that will carry astronauts — was lifted by an Indian Air Force helicopter to a height of about 1.8 miles (3 kilometers) and then released, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a recent update.

"This test successfully demonstrated the objective of end-to-end performance validation of the critical parachute-based deceleration system of the Crew Module for Gaganyaan mission in one of the typical mission scenarios," the statement read.

During the test, the capsule deployed 10 parachutes in a carefully timed sequence, slowing safely for a water landing. The system performed as intended, reducing the capsule's speed to a safe level before splashdown, after which it was successfully recovered by the Indian Navy, according to the statement.

The exercise also simulated a launch pad abort scenario, confirming that the safety systems respond correctly under emergency conditions. ISRO said that additional tests are planned in the coming days to further verify the system's reliability.

This summer, Indian space minister Jitendra Singh noted that development of the Gaganyaan ground support hardware and launch vehicle is about 90% complete, with only the final phases of qualification remaining.

India now plans to send astronauts into space no earlier than 2027, following a series of delays that have shifted the original 2022 target, in part due to technical issues and also challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation's historic first human spaceflight will be preceded by four uncrewed missions to test Gaganyaan's Human-rated Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (HLVM-3) rocket and ground infrastructure.

The first of these long-delayed uncrewed missions, known as G1, is expected to launch in December this year. It will carry a half-humanoid robot named Vyomitra (Sanskrit for "space friend") to collect data and validate technology, while also testing the crew and service modules, reentry procedures, and a safe splashdown in the Bay of Bengal.

The program recently added a fourth uncrewed test flight after the Indian government allocated an additional 111 billion rupees (about $1.32 billion US) to the program. If G1 proceeds as planned, the remaining uncrewed test flights will be completed by 2026, with G2 and G3 also scheduled for that year, according to ISRO.

Following these test flights, the first crewed mission, dubbed H1, is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2027. It will carry one or two astronauts to low Earth orbit, roughly 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the planet. Success would make India the fourth country to independently launch humans into space, after the Soviet Union/Russia,the United States and China.

India's astronauts, or Gaganyatris, for the H1 and H2 missions were selected in February 2024. They are Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap and Shubhanshu Shukla, all test pilots in the Indian Air Force.

Since their initial selection in 2019, the team has trained in Russia and the U.S., with Shukla recently flying to the International Space Station aboard the private Axiom-4 mission. The quartet has also enrolled in a Master's program at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, where they are studying various aspects of the space program. Meanwhile, Krishnan has continued to log flying hours at his IAF base between ISRO commitments, according to reporting by ThePrint.

"No amount of training feels enough when it comes to representing your country in space, but what I realized is that there is always more than one way of doing something, and the more knowledge you gain, the better you become," Nair told ThePrint.

Current life-support systems such as those on the International Space Station (ISS) rely on bulky centrifuges to separate the oxygen and hydrogen bubbles created when water is split by electricity, a process known as electrolysis. On Earth, bubbles rise away from electrodes, but in microgravity, spinning is required to separate them. This method works, but the equipment is heavy, power-hungry and is ill-suited for long-duration missions to the moon or Mars.

A new study led by Alvaro Romero-Calvo of the Georgia Institute of Technology, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Bremen’s Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) and the University of Warwick, has demonstrated a simpler, lighter and more sustainable solution in the form of magnets.

The team has shown that magnetic forces can guide gas bubbles in microgravity to collection spots, eliminating the need for mechanical spinning from heavy centrifuges. Their findings were published this month in the journal Nature Chemistry.

"In this paper, we demonstrate that two largely unexplored magnetic interactions — diamagnetism and magnetohydrodynamics — provide an exciting pathway to solve this problem and develop alternative oxygen production architectures," Romero-Calvo said in a statement.

Using Zarm’s 479-foot-tall (146 meters) drop tower in Bremen, Germany, the team tested the technology, producing an increase in bubble detachment efficiency of up to 240%, which would translate to much more effective electrolysis cells and oxygen generation.

"After four years of hard work, showing that magnetic forces can control electrochemical bubbly flows in microgravity is an exciting step towards more efficient and reliable spacecraft life support systems," said Romero-Calvo.

The approach was first developed by Romero-Calvo as part of his doctoral thesis, and then proven feasible through a grant from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program.

The team is now set to continue the research under NIAC and European Space Agency (ESA) programs to assess the implementation, scalability and long-term efficiency of different water-splitting architectures relying on magnetism using both the microgravity drop tower and suborbital rocket experiments. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) also supported the research.

Researchers from Kyoto University in Japan did just this: They froze the spermatogonial stem cells of mice through a process called cryopreservation, then kept them on the International Space Station (ISS) for six months. Once back on Earth, researchers injected the same spermatogonial stem cells — which are cells located in the testes that play a crucial role in sperm production — back into the testes of mice. After a few months, following natural mating patterns, healthy mice babies were born with relatively normal gene expression.

Researchers were pleasantly surprised to find that spaceflight did not affect how well the germ cells sustained themselves through cryopreservation, underlining an important option for future human use.

"It is important to examine how long we can store germ cells in the ISS to better understand the limits of storage for future human spaceflight," the study's first author Mito Kanatsu-Shinohara of Kyoto University said in a statement.

Human reproduction in space is uncharted waters, though as the Kyoto University researchers pointed out in their paper, successful Earth-centered reproductive technology such as embryo freezing may currently have "limited applications," as other research has found that embryonic cells may be "particularly sensitive to spaceflight," and have problems developing properly. (Embryos are the youngest form of human offspring, representing the earliest days and weeks of development after an egg is fertilized. For reproductive technology procedures including in-vitro fertilization, embryos are created in a lab and frozen at days-old ages.)

Scientists of the study also pointed out that arguably more simple procedures such as freeze-drying sperm itself (rather than the cells that assist in healthy sperm production), may carry health risks for future offspring, making more research into germ cell preservation techniques crucial for safe long-haul space exploration.

In terms of humans actually reproducing in space, however, scientists may just be scratching the surface as studies of pregnancy in space are limited to animals — and also potentially more limited to men, as fewer women have traveled to space.

While research has found that menstruation itself (the bleeding portion of the menstrual cycle) is largely unaffected by spaceflight, how microgravity and radiation affects follicular development (the phase of the menstrual cycle where an egg is matured and selected for ovulation) and ovulation (the release of an egg for potential pregnancy) in humans requires further research. As space gynecologist Dr. Varsha Jain pointed out in an article for BBC's Science Focus, reproductive health research on Earth itself is often lacking — the idea of space conception and birth is even more theoretical than that.

The results of the study were published in August in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

The 2025 class of NASA astronaut candidates will be announced Sept. 22 during a livestreamed event at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston that begins at 12:30 p.m. EDT (1630 GMT; 11:30 a.m. local time in Houston).

You can catch coverage of the event on NASA+, Netflix, Amazon Prime, NASA's YouTube channel, and the agency's X account. Space.com will also simulcast the event, if NASA makes its stream available.

The selectees were narrowed down from a field of 8,000 applicants. The new astronaut candidates will next undergo roughly two years of training at NASA before being certified as full astronauts, eligible for future missions.

NASA also plans to host several media briefings on Sept. 23 and Sept. 24 to discuss the Artemis 2 mission that will send four astronauts around the moon no earlier than April 2026. These events will stream live on NASA's YouTube channel and X account (as well as at Space.com, if possible).

On board Artemis 2 will be NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot) and Christina Koch (mission specialist), and Canadian Space Agency astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen. Glover will be the first Black astronaut ever to fly a moon mission, while Koch will be the first woman and Hansen the first non-American.

Here are the scheduled briefings for Artemis 2:

Tuesday, Sept. 23:

11 a.m. EDT (10 a.m. local time, 1500 GMT): Mission overview briefing with the following participants

• Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
• Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida
• Judd Frieling, lead Artemis 2 ascent flight director, NASA Johnson
• Jeff Radigan, lead Artemis 2 flight director, NASA Johnson
• Rick Henfling, lead Artemis 2 entry flight director, NASA Johnson
• Daniel Florez, test director, Exploration Ground Systems, NASA Kennedy

1 p.m. EDT (12 p.m. local time, 1700 GMT): Artemis 2 science and technology briefing with the following participants:

• Matt Ramsey, Artemis 2 mission manager, NASA Headquarters
• Debbie Korth, deputy Orion Program manager, NASA Johnson
• Jacob Bleacher, manager, Science, Technology Utilization, and Integration, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
• Mark Clampin, acting deputy associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters

Wednesday, Sept. 24

10 a.m. EDT (12 p.m. local time, 1400 GMT): Artemis 2 crew news conference featuring:

• Reid Wiseman, commander
• Victor Glover, pilot
• Christina Koch, mission specialist
• Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist

Orbital observation

In 2011, on his third mission, Mike Fincke set a new record for cumulative time in space by an American astronaut — 381 days. That record has since been surpassed by several astronauts, but this week Fincke notched a personal milestone.

On Wednesday (Aug. 20), Fincke reached this 400th day on the International Space Station (spread over four flights). He is now the ninth American and 38th person worldwide to have surpassed 400 days off Earth.

Mission Control in Houston celebrated the occasion with a special display on the room's large front screen, which Fincke and his crewmates could see via a live video connection.

Science status

Among the research that was conducted by the Expedition 73 crew aboard the space station this week was:

Bio-Monitor — Flight engineer Jonny Kim with NASA spent two days this week wearing a Canadian-designed vest to collect data about the health of his heart and blood flow. The garment is intended to ease taking physiological measurements without being as intrusive as separate electrodes and other apparatuses.

Immunity Assay — Kimiya Yui with JAXA (the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) collected saliva and blood samples and froze them for their later return to Earth as part of a study looking into the effects of microgravity on cellular immune functions.

CIPHER — As part of a collection of 14 ongoing studies, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman used the ARED, or Advanced Resistive Exercise Device, to see how much force she could register while performing static dead lifts. She also used ARED to exercise her back, shoulders, biceps and triceps before running on a treadmill.

Ultrasound 2 — Cardman and Kim also worked together to use an ultrasound device to scan Cardman's arteries as another part of the CIPHER studies.

Station keeping

The Expedition 73 crewmates also took part in activities to maintain the space station's systems and prepare for future research.

Kubik — Jonny Kim and Kimiya Yui set up two incubators in the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory. The small, temperature-controlled devices will be used with upcoming self-contained research investigations.

Suit cams — Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke worked in the U.S. Quest airlock to service high-definition cameras that are mounted to extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) helmet assemblies. As part of the work, Fincke peeled off and reapplied the foil tape that shields the cameras from the extreme temperatures of the vacuum of space.

Progress MS-30 (91P) — Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, both with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, wrapped up stowing spent equipment and refuse aboard this Russian cargo spacecraft and closed its hatch. The Progress will depart the station in September and be destroyed in Earth's atmosphere.

Preparations were also underway for the next U.S. supply delivery. SpaceX is working toward launching the CRS-33 Dragon spacecraft this weekend (Sunday, Aug. 24).

Astronaut activity

Try as he might, Kimiya Yui was unable to capture any images of transcient luminous events (TLE) during his previous stay on the International Space Station. This week, his luck changed.

"Yesterday, we managed to capture it twice — what luck! This post is wishing everyone good fortune as well!" wrote Yui on social media on Tuesday (Aug. 19).

"While lightning is terrifying from the ground, it looks beautiful when seen from space, which is a bit unsettling," he wrote. "It was purely by chance that I managed to capture [the red sprite] amidst a lot of lightning, so it was just a matter of luck."

By the numbers

As of Friday (Aug. 15), there are 7 people aboard the International Space Station: Expedition 73 commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos; fellow cosmonauts Alexey Zubritsky and Oleg Platonov; Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke of NASA; and Kimiya Yui of JAXA, all flight engineers.

There are two docked crew spacecraft: SpaceX's Dragon "Endeavour" attached to the zenith port of the Harmony module and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-27 attached to the Earth-facing port of the Prichal node.

There are two docked cargo spacecraft: Roscosmos' Progress MS-30 (91P) attached to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, and Progress MS-31 (92P) docked to the space-facing port of the Poisk module.

As of Friday, the space station has been continuously crewed for 24 years and 9 months and 20 days.

Russia just sent a mini menagerie to orbit.

The Bion-M No. 2 biosatellite launched atop a Soyuz rocket from the Russia-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today (Aug. 20), rising off the pad at 1:13 p.m. EDT (1713 GMT; 10:13 p.m. local time in Kazakhstan).

Onboard are 75 mice and 1,000 fruit flies, along with a variety of microbes, cell cultures and plant seeds. These living payloads will spend a month circling Earth, to help scientists gauge the effects of spaceflight on organisms and their various systems.

As its name suggests, the newly launched mission is the second in Russia's Bion-M line of space-medicine investigations, the successor to the nation's previous Bion program. (The last of the original Bion missions, Bion 11, flew in 1996.)

Bion-M No. 1 launched in April 2013, sending a diverse assemblage of creatures to low Earth orbit for 30 days. These payloads included "rodents, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans, mollusks, fish, insects, bacteria, plant and animal cell cultures," according to a NASA mission description.

Bion-M No. 2 was supposed to follow in 2016 or 2017 but was beset by a series of delays, as Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com noted. Everything was finally ready today, and the spacecraft got off the ground at long last.

Like its predecessor, Bion-M No. 2 is expected to circle Earth for a month. It will do so in a different orbit, however — one that takes it over the poles, increasing the exposure to cosmic radiation substantially compared to Bion-M No. 1.

The mission's capsule will then parachute back to Earth, where it will be retrieved and taken back to the lab. Researchers will pore over the payloads, studying how the various organisms — and simulated moon dirt and rock, which also launched on Bion-M No. 2 — were affected by microgravity and radiation.

Such work is designed to help Russia prepare for human exploration of deep-space locales, particularly the moon.

Russia is targeting Earth's nearest neighbor in the relatively near future: It's a partner on the International Lunar Research Station, a China-led effort to establish a crewed moon base in the 2030s.

Researchers from Houston Methodist hospital’s Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery reported the results of their recent study that probed whether astronauts experience sinonasal issues, which include common symptoms such as nasal congestion and pressure or pain in the face, while in space. Sixty out of 71 (85%) of astronauts included in the study confirmed having such symptoms.

Sinuses refer to the maze of cavities running around our face and skull, which keep us healthy by cleaning the air we breathe and helping balance the fluids in our head. People typically experience unpleasant symptoms in their sinuses or nose when the sinuses become full with too much mucus and are unable to drain properly, or if there’s inflammation.

While it's common to experience some unsavory symptoms when your sinuses are working overtime to ward off intruders in the air, or when your immune system activates to fight off a virus or infection, the study researchers link astronauts' congestion problems to the way microgravity causes fluid in the sinus cavities to shift.

While usually benign here on Earth, study lead author Masayoshi Takashima warns in a press release that it is those very seemingly mild symptoms that can potentially affect things like problem solving or overall health.

"This is about maintaining peak performance," Takashima said. "If you’re not sleeping well because you can't breathe, your cognitive function, reaction time and mission performance can suffer, and those things are absolutely critical in space."

Doubling down on space's effect on the delicate, important irrigation system running through your head, researchers also found that astronauts leaving the cabin for spacewalks were particularly affected by pressure shifts that lead to problems potentially more dangerous than congestion, such as eustachian tube dysfunction, which are issues in the little tubes that connect your ears to your throat.

The nose is just the latest point of interest in astronaut health. As humans expand into outer space, medical research on how our bodies fare in microgravity has been the topic of much research, including space flight’s impact on muscle mass and radiation exposure. And, as the latest memo on astronaut congestion underlines, a key component of human medicine isn't just concern over big medical events, like heart problems, but smaller, more manageable symptoms that affect our well-being in the long run.

A study about these results was published on Aug. 5 in the journal Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology.

Chinese astronauts added more debris shielding to the Tiangong space station during a 6.5-hour spacewalk on Friday (Aug. 15), according to state media.

Two astronauts from the three-person Shenzhou 20 mission ventured outside Tiangong to do the spacewalk, which concluded Friday at 9:27 a.m. EDT (1447 UTC, or 10:47 p.m. in Beijing). It was at least the second effort for the crew to put "debris protection" devices on the three-module space station, following similar work on May 22.

Taikonauts Chen Dong and Wang Jie also inspected and maintained equipment on the exterior of Tiangong, among other duties, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said, according to the state-run broadcaster CCTV.

It was Dong's sixth spacewalk — the most by any Chinese astronaut, CMSA officials said. Assisting the duo from inside Tiangong was Chen Zhongrui, the other member of Shenzhou 20.

The Shenzhou 20 astronauts are more than halfway through their expected six-month orbital stay, after launching from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on April 24. They've been doing experiments in life sciences, microgravity physics, space material science, space medicine and aerospace tech, according to CMSA.

"The space station is operating stably, and the three crew members are in good health," CMSA added in a separate statement ahead of the spacewalk. Friday's extravehicular activity was the third for the crew. Shenzhou 20 has also witnessed the departure of one cargo spacecraft (Tianzhou 8) and the arrival of another (Tianzhou 9).

Shenzhou 20 is the ninth crewed mission to visit Tiangong, which is about 20% as massive as the International Space Station and shaped like a T. China completed assembly of the outpost in October 2022, but is considering putting on more modules in future missions.

Dong, the commander, is on his third spaceflight, while Zhongrui and Jie are rookies.

The Bion-M No. 2 biosatellite is being readied for its planned Aug. 20 launch atop a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Onboard are 75 mice and other specimens to be exposed to 30 days of radiation before a parachute-aided return to Russia.

Bion-M No. 2 is being dubbed a "Noah's Ark," because it's loaded with the mice, more than 1,000 fruit flies, cell cultures, microorganisms and plant seeds.

Moon simulants, too

Also onboard is a payload tied to future exploration of the moon.

The Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry teamed with the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems (IMBP) to produce a container holding 16 test tubes. The vials hold lunar simulants – dust and rocks — that mimic surface materials found at high latitudes on the moon.

The lunar simulants will be evaluated after their return to Earth, to see how they were affected by the radiation and vacuum of space. This work will provide insight into moon construction ideas, according to Russian space officials.

Radiation susceptibility

According to the IMBP, the Bion-M No. 2 mission will gather a variety of data, including:

• Information on the effects of microgravity on organisms' radiation susceptibility, which could aid planning for future deep-space missions;
• Data that could aid the development of adjusted requirements for astronaut medical support;
• Information on the biological effects of spaceflight that's applicable to medicine here on Earth.

Of mice, men and women

Bion-M No. 2 will reportedly be lofted into a nearly circular orbit at an inclination of roughly 97 degrees — a pole-to-pole orbit — and remain in space for 30 days. That orbit will increase the level of cosmic radiation by at least an order of magnitude compared to that seen on the Bion-M No. 1 spacecraft launched back in April 2013. That spacecraft also remained in Earth orbit for 30 days but flew on a different orbit.

Scientists from the Space Research Institute (IKI) of the Russian Academy of sciences and IMBP will have put more than 10 experiments on the biosatellite.

Mice were chosen for several different reasons. Their genes are quite similar to those of human ones, their short life cycle allows researchers to trace the dynamics of changes across generations, and they have increased sensitivity to radiation, according to Roscosmos, Russia's space agency.

Real-time data

Scientists have prepared three groups of mice. The first group will live in familiar conditions here on Earth. The second group will live in a ground laboratory in flight equipment, serving as a control group. The third group of mice will spend 30 days in orbit.

Researchers will receive real-time data on the condition of the rodents using special cameras and sensors inside the boxes that contain them. Each mouse-carrying unit is outfitted with feeding, lighting, ventilation and waste-disposal systems. Chips will be implanted in some rodents.

After the mice return to Earth, researchers will study how they adapted to space and readapted post-flight.

Roscosmos noted that the mission will assist scientists in appraising how spaceflight affects living organisms, in an environment where radiation levels are approximately 30% higher than other near-Earth orbits. This type of data is viewed as central to prepare humans for long-distance spaceflight.

Early space meals were squeezed from toothpaste-like tubes and chewed from bite-sized cubes. NASA and other space agencies have spent decades figuring out how to make food tasty, nutritious, and safe for zero gravity. Some choices might surprise you!

This quiz will test your knowledge of what's been packed into space pantries over the years. You'll encounter real menu items, experimental snacks, and a few foods that sound space-worthy but never left Earth.

Whether you're a foodie, a space nerd, or just curious about what’s for dinner in orbit, this quiz is your chance to explore the edible side of space exploration.

Try it out below and see how well you score!

What is it?

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft is a fully autonomous orbital vehicle designed to ferry astronauts and cargo to and from the ISS and other LEO destinations.

To make spaceflight more efficient and cost-effective, the spacecraft is reusable, capable of withstanding multiple reentries, and can remain docked at the ISS for extended stays. Launched atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, it can carry up to six passengers, though NASA missions typically fly only four crew members alongside cargo and research equipment.

Where is it?

This image was taken from the ISS, while the orbiting lab was over central Pakistan.

Why is it amazing?

Endeavour docked at the ISS Harmony module on Aug. 2, less than 15 hours after launch, the fastest Crew Dragon rendezvous to date.

Crew-11 will stay docked with the station for six to eight months, during which time the four astronauts will conduct a variety of scientific experiments and do maintenance work on the ISS.

The Crew-11 astronauts will be on board the ISS during the 25th anniversary of continuous human presence on the station, which will occur in early November.

Want to learn more?

You can read more about research on the ISS and SpaceX's Crew-11 mission.

The journey wasn't easy. These women came from different countries, backgrounds, and missions, but they all shared one thing: courage.

From the Cold War era to the Space Shuttle program, each of these astronauts made history with their first flight. Some were scientists, some pilots, all pioneers.

Whether you're a space enthusiast or just curious about the women who made history above the clouds, this quiz will take you on a journey through courage, science, and the stars. Let’s see how many of these cosmic pioneers you can name!

Try it out below and see how well you score!

Orbital observation

"Want to go to the moon or even Mars? I do!"

That was the sentiment expressed by Mike Fincke, who arrived at the International Space Station with SpaceX's Crew-11 mission last Saturday (Aug. 2). A veteran space traveller — this is his fourth time on the ISS — Fincke quickly settled into his orbital home and began preparing for the day that he and others can go farther away from Earth.

"I contributed to the science that will help humans thrive in the solar system. Today was my first blood draw!" Fincke wrote on social media on Thursday (Aug. 7), captioning this photo of him holding up his contribution. "The samples are now frozen and will be studied on Earth. More samples are in my future."

Science status

Among the research that was conducted by the Expedition 73 crew aboard the space station this week was:

Muscle Stimulation — Before departing for home, flight engineer Nichole Ayers took one more turn using electrical pulses to stimulate her leg muscles in an attempt to find a way to augment daily exercise as a protection against bone and muscle loss. Fellow NASA astronaut Jonny Kim assisted Ayers in sending the signals and collecting the data returned.

Drain Brain 2.0 — Newly arrived flight engineers Mike Fincke of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA picked up where prior crew members left off, now becoming the subject of an experiment to measure how blood flows from the heart to her brain in microgravity. Both astronauts wore electrodes on their necks and chests to collect data on the changes to their bodies as a result of blood pooling nearing their heads.

Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky also studied their blood circulation, focusing on the flow from their hearts to the arms and hands. The data they collected will help doctors increase their understanding and develop better countermeasures to the stresses the vascular system experiences during long-duration spaceflight.

Station keeping

Much of the Expedition 73 crew's time this week was devoted to the recent arrival of SpaceX's Crew-11 astronauts and cosmonauts and the departure of the Crew-10 members.

Fiber optics — Crew-10 commander Anne McClain worked together with Crew-11 commander Zena Cardman inside the European Space Agency's (ESA) Columbus lab to set up the equipment needed to manufacture optical fibers. The quality of the cable generated in microgravity surpasses what can be produced on Earth.

Astronaut activity

Before they left the space station, NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov — the four members of SpaceX's Crew-10 mission — gathered with their colleagues of the past five months and newly arrived replacements to bid farewell on Tuesday (Aug. 5). They also transferred command of Expedition 73 from Onishi to Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos.

"You are in good hands, so I am sure the second half of Expedition 73 will be even better," said Onishi, addressing the members of SpaceX's Crew-11, Zena Cardman and Fincke of NASA, JAXA's Kimiya Yui and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos. "Crew 10 is now leaving, but the science will continue here because this place is an outpost for human beings to advance our technology and to explore farther."

By the numbers

As of Friday (Aug. 8), there are 7 people aboard the International Space Station: Expedition 73 commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos; fellow cosmonauts Alexey Zubritsky and Oleg Platonov; Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke of NASA; and Kimiya Yui of JAXA, all flight engineers.

There are two docked crew spacecraft: SpaceX's Dragon "Endeavour" attached to the zenith port of the Harmony module and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-27 attached to the Earth-facing port of the Prichal node.

There are two docked cargo spacecraft: Roscosmos' Progress MS-30 (91P) attached to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, and Progress MS-31 (92P) docked to the space-facing port of the Poisk module.

As of Friday, the space station has been continuously crewed for 24 years and 9 months and 6 days.

Wilmore flew on four different spacecraft during his astronaut career, which began way back in 2000. He spent a total of 464 days off Earth and conducted five spacewalks, during which he racked up 32 hours of outside-spacecraft time.

"Butch's commitment to NASA's mission and dedication to human space exploration is truly exemplary," Steve Koerner, acting director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in an agency statement today (Aug. 6) that announced Wilmore's retirement. "His lasting legacy of fortitude will continue to impact and inspire the Johnson workforce, future explorers and the nation for generations. On behalf of NASA's Johnson Space Center, we thank Butch for his service."

Wilmore was a captain and a test pilot in the U.S. Navy with both peacetime and wartime operational experience when NASA selected him to join its astronaut corps in 2000.

He flew to space three times during his NASA career, starting with the 11-day STS-129 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the space shuttle Atlantis in November 2009.

Wilmore spent 5.5 months aboard the ISS from September 2014 to March 2015, getting there and back aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. He returned to the orbiting lab in June 2024, on the first-ever crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi.

That mission — a two-person flight, with Wilmore sharing the capsule with NASA's Suni Williams — was supposed to last just 10 days or so. However, Starliner suffered thruster issues on the way up, and NASA and Boeing extended the capsule's ISS stay to study the problem.

The agency ultimately decided to bring Starliner home uncrewed, which occurred without incident in September 2024. Wilmore and Williams continued living aboard the ISS, eventually coming back to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in March of this year, on the downward leg of the company's Crew-9 mission.

The NASA statement did not say what Wilmore plans to do next. But it wouldn't be shocking if he stayed connected with spaceflight and exploration in some way.

"From my earliest days, I have been captivated by the marvels of creation, looking upward with an insatiable curiosity. This curiosity propelled me into the skies, and eventually to space, where the magnificence of the cosmos mirrored the glory of its creator in ways words can scarcely convey," Wilmore said in the same statement.

"Even as I ventured beyond Earth's limits, I remained attuned to the beauty and significance of the world below, recognizing the same intricate design evident among the stars is also woven into the fabric of life at home," he added.

Wilmore's retirement follows closely on the heels of that of fellow astronaut Kate Rubins, who left NASA on July 28.

The four astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-11 mission have arrived at their orbital destination.

Crew-11's Crew Dragon capsule, named Endeavour, docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday at 2:26 a.m. EDT (0626 GMT), less than 15 hours after it launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Space Coast.

The hatches between the two spacecraft are expected to open around 4:45 a.m. EDT (0845 GMT), and a welcome ceremony will take place about an hour after that.

The docking occurred five years to the day after the splashdown of SpaceX's first-ever crewed mission, the Demo-2 test flight, which sent NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS for a two-month stay. Demo-2 also employed the Crew Dragon Endeavour.

Crew-11 is commanded by NASA astronaut Zena Cardman. Her crewmates are fellow NASA spaceflyer Mike Fincke, who's the Crew-11 pilot, Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Oleg Platonov of Russia's space agency Roscosmos. The latter are both mission specialists.

This is the first spaceflight for Cardman and Platonov, the second for Yui and the fourth for Fincke. And it's the sixth trip into the final frontier for Endeavour, SpaceX's most-flown crew capsule.

The Crew-11 quartet are joining seven people aboard the orbiting lab: JAXA's Takuya Onishi, commander of the station's current Expedition 73 mission; Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers and Jonny Kim of NASA; and cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky.

The Crew-11 astronauts will relieve Ayers, McClain, Onishi and Peskov, who arrived at the ISS in mid-March on SpaceX's Crew-10 mission. The Crew-10 quartet will head back home to Earth a few days from now, after spending some time and sharing some knowledge with their Crew-11 counterparts.

As its name indicates, Crew-11 is the 11th operational astronaut mission SpaceX has flown to the ISS for NASA. SpaceX also has eight other crewed flights under its belt — Demo-2, four private efforts to the orbiting lab operated by the Houston company Axiom Space, and three free-flying missions to orbit (Inspiration4, Polaris Dawn and Fram2).

Editor's note: This story was updated at 3:30 a.m. ET on Aug. 2 with news of successful docking.

Peggy Whitson, the commander of Axiom Space's fourth crewed flight to the International Space Station (ISS), says she found new perspectives on visiting her off-Earth "home" by helping the three rookies who accompanied her on the Ax-4 mission last month.

Assisting the new astronauts for 2.5 weeks "reminds you of all the experiences you had when you were first up there," Whitson told Space.com in a livestreamed post-flight press conference on Friday (Aug. 1). "It's always great to relive a little bit of that first time."

Ax-4 launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 26. The mission concluded 19 days later with a Pacific Ocean splashdown off the coast of California on July 15.

Ax-4's SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, named "Grace," was commanded by Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and currently Axiom's director of human spaceflight. "I've been there a few days," she joked to Space.com when asked to reflect on her nearly two years of cumulative off-Earth time, which is an American record.

Among the Ax-4 rookies was pilot Shubhanshu "Shux" Shukla from India. Shukla is one of four astronauts selected for the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, which is scheduled to fly sometime in 2027.

"The knowledge that I've gained, it spans a history of human spaceflight missions," Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS, said during Friday's briefing. "The success has already started showing, wherein the [Indian] kids have already started asking questions, like, 'How do we become astronauts?' and 'How do we get to be a part of this?' I think that is also a big success for this mission."

Ax-4's other first-time flyers were mission specialists. Poland's Sławosz "Suave" Uznański-Wiśniewski is a member of the European Space Agency astronaut reserve program. Tibor Kapu is a member of the Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) program. Both were also the first from their countries to visit the ISS.

Uznański-Wiśniewski said the ISS Expedition 73 astronauts, who have been living on the station for several months, staged a special experience for him shortly after Ax-4's arrival.

"We were getting a first tour of the station, and then I was asked to close my eyes. I was lowered into the cupola, where the NASA crew asked me to then reopen my eyes. And there it was: The first look from cupola was my first time looking back to see Earth, to see Poland … I'll never forget that moment. Earth is big, and so very blue."

Kapu said he was grateful both for his time in orbit and for the support team he has at home. "I miss my family and friends the most in the past year," he said, noting that mission debriefs mean he will not return to Hungary until mid-August.

"Obviously, there have been some rough patches; the preparation for a mission like this doesn't always only have good days. There are some harder ones as well," he continued, saying his personal connections helped him keep going. "Those are the people, exactly when you talk to them, they are the ones who give you energy."

The Ax-4 quartet accomplished 60 science experiments and technology demonstrations during their time in orbit, setting an experiment record while also performing public outreach events.

Media reports suggest that Axiom Space's next effort, called Ax-5, will launch around May or June 2026, depending on ISS scheduling. That crew has not been named; NASA does require all private ISS spaceflight missions be commanded by a retired agency astronaut, however.

One possibility could be an all-U.K. mission. In 2023, the U.K. Space Agency and Axiom signed an agreement for a potential commercially sponsored mission expected to send four U.K. astronauts aloft. Retired U.K. astronaut Tim Peake joined Axiom in 2024 as a strategic advisor, aiming to make that mission a reality.

Axiom also plans to assemble and operate its own free-flying space station as early as 2028, following up on a contract signed with NASA in 2020 as part of the agency's efforts to eventually replace the decades-old ISS complex. Axiom accelerated its station timeline by two years this past December, by altering the order of when it will launch modules to orbit.

SpaceX launched its eleventh operational astronaut mission for NASA today (Aug. 1), sending the four Crew-11 astronauts on a flight toward the International Space Station.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at 11:43 a.m. EDT (1543 GMT) today. Atop the rocket was the company's Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft making its sixth flight, a reuse record for Crew Dragon vehicles.

The launch occurred a day later than originally planned; SpaceX tried to get Crew-11 off the ground on Thursday (July 31) but had to scrub that attempt with about a minute left in the countdown clock due to intruding clouds.

Just under eight minutes after launch, the mission's Falcon 9 booster came down for a landing at SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC, creating a thunderous sonic boom audible for miles.

This marked the last landing that will happen at LZ-1, which will now be retired. In March 2023, the U.S. Space Force announced that Launch Complex 13, where LZ-1 is located, will be leased to two private companies, Phantom Space and Vaya Space.

The Space Force's announcement added that private providers like SpaceX can submit requests for landing zone capabilities at their own launch complexes, "which will then go through an extensive evaluation process."

SpaceX still operates another booster landing site on the Cape, however, called Landing Zone 2.

Crew-11 consists of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Oleg Platonov of Russia's space agency Roscosmos.

This will be the first spaceflight for Crew-11 commander Cardman, who was originally scheduled to launch on the Crew-9 mission. Cardman was removed from that mission because Crew-9 ended up launching to the International Space Station (ISS) with only two astronauts on board in order to make room for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on the return trip. The duo were left without a dedicated ride home after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that ferried them to the ISS on its first crewed test flight in June 2024 encountered leaks and propulsion issues.

Fincke will be making his fourth trip to space on Crew-11 while serving as pilot, having previously flown three space shuttle missions to the ISS. As the most experienced spaceflyer, Fincke said he's looking forward to seeing the reactions of his crewmates, two of whom are making their first trip to orbit.

"I remember how moving it was, and how breathtaking it was for me, and I want to share their joy in that," Fincke previously told Space.com.

Crew-11 marks the second spaceflight for mission specialist Kimiya Yui of Japan, who previously spent 142 days on the ISS during Expedition 44/45 in 2015. During that mission, Yui helped construct laboratory equipment in Japan's Kibo science module.

Rounding out the crew is Russia's Oleg Platonov, who is making his first trip into space and serving as mission specialist.

Once their spacecraft is docked safely on the ISS and the hatch is opened, the four Crew-11 astronauts will begin relieving the members of SpaceX's previous mission for NASA, Crew-10. Crew-11 docking is currently scheduled for 3 a.m. ET (0700 GMT) on Saturday (Aug. 2).

NASA overlaps astronaut missions to the ISS as part of the agency's routine crew rotation in order to maintain a continuous presence on the space station. The Crew-10 and Crew-11 astronauts will overlap for about a week to ensure a smooth handover of science experiments and responsibilities, maintenance tasks and station operations.

After Crew-11 is settled in, the four Crew-10 astronauts — who launched in March 2025 — will make their way back down to Earth aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that brought them there.

The Crew-11 astronauts will spend roughly six months aboard the orbital laboratory conducting science experiments that include simulating moon landings near the lunar south pole, testing how astronauts can protect their eyesight from the effects of microgravity, and studying how plant cells divide in space. In addition, the crew will conduct experiments to "produce a higher volume of human stem cells and generate on-demand nutrients," according to NASA.

However, NASA is considering extending Crew Dragon missions to eight months, according to Dana Weigel, the International Space Station Program Manager at NASA. "We're looking at that right now for the Dragon flights, and so we are looking at the potential to extend this current flight, Crew-11," Weigel said during a prelaunch press conference on Wednesday (July 30).

Aside from relieving the Crew-10 astronauts for their return journey home, Crew-11 will see the arrival of the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-28 mission in November 2025, which will welcome NASA astronaut Chris Williams and cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev. A Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft is also expected to launch and dock during Crew-11's stay.

As its name implies, Crew-11 is the eleventh operational astronaut mission SpaceX has flown for NASA, but the twelfth flight under the agency's Commercial Crew Program, in which NASA hired private companies to send astronauts to and from the ISS. The first Crew Flight Test of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in June 2024 was also conducted under the program.

Orbital observation

Anne McClain was not planning to take any photographs.

The Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut had taken a moment to herself in the space station's Cupola when she felt compelled to capture the auroral glow out the window.

"As we get close to leaving the International Space Station, I find myself wanting to savor every moment and every view. None of us are guaranteed to get to do this again, and every minute spent in space is a special one," McClain wrote on social media.

"I dropped into the Cupola to look out the window and just be in the moment, not taking photos or looking for anything in particular. Well, when this view presented itself, I changed my mind … I had to pick up a camera to share this with all of you. Wow!" she wrote.

Science status

Among the research that was conducted by the Expedition 73 crew aboard the space station this week was:

CIMON — Expedition 73 commander Takuya Onishi set two robots free to play hide and seek in a demonstration of future AI-powered crew assistants. CIMON, or the Crew Interactive MObile companioN, took control of a free-flying camera to search out items that were hidden throughout the Kibo laboratory module.

Muscle Stimulation — Astronauts on the space station exercise every day to protect against bone and muscle loss. Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers this week continued tests of a possible alternative countermeasure to muscular atrophy. McClain attached electrodes and sent electrical impulses into Ayers' leg muscles.

Drain Brain 2.0 — In a separate study, Ayers also wore electrodes on her abdomen and shoulders to measure how blood flows from her heart to her brain in microgravity. She also wore a heart monitor while exercising using a treadmill and a resistive device.

Cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov spent some time assessing new freeze-dried food packs, while Alexey Zubritsky and Kirill Peskov tested a suit that can measure the vibrations generated aboard the space station while running on a treadmill.

Station keeping

Much of the Expedition 73 crew's time devoted this week to maintaining the space station's systems focused on the upcoming arrival of SpaceX's Crew-11 astronauts and cosmonauts and the departure of the Crew-10 members.

Seats set-up — Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, two of the home-bound crewmates, helped fellow NASA astronaut Jonny Kim re-install the crew chairs aboard the Dragon spacecraft that will soon depart. They also stowed emergency equipment inside the capsule.

Staging supplies — Kim worked on gathering the items the incoming new crew will initially need aboard the space station.

Sleep stations — McClain, Ayers, and Onishi cleaned out the air ducts leading into their crew quarters in the Harmony module. McClain then configured a temporary sleeping bag inside her Dragon ride home while Ayers outfitted an extra sleep station in the European Columbus laboratory. These extra "bunks" will be used during the handover period between the new and outgoing crew members.

Astronaut activity

On Monday (July 28), Expedition 73 flight engineer Jonny Kim of NASA was interviewed live by the participants in the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Scholars Program at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

"Space has been a humbling environment in so many different ways," said Kim, beginning a reply to a question about how his experience as a flight surgeon might have set up false assumptions about what he has now experienced in space. "Having a background in medicine, dating back to my early days as a combat medic on the SEAL teams to later being a physician, was having an understanding of how our bodies work, the human physiology."

"We've evolved over a long period of time to use gravity. We depend on gravity for our circulatory system [and] our muscular-skeletal system, so when we go into space, a lot of those things change," he said. "So that basis in physiology has helped me appreciate why we do countermeasures ... why we have to go on a bike or run every single day or lift weights for an hour and a half, it is to counteract a lot of the — in terms of terra firma — maladapted changes."

By the numbers

As of Friday (Aug. 1), there are 7 people aboard the International Space Station: Expedition 73 commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA, Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers and Jonny Kim of NASA and Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky of Roscosmos, all flight engineers.

There are two docked crew spacecraft: SpaceX's Dragon "Endurance" attached to the forward port of the Harmony module and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-27 attached to the Earth-facing port of the Prichal node.

There are two docked cargo spacecraft: Roscosmos' Progress MS-30 (91P) attached to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, and Progress MS-31 (92P) docked to the space-facing port of the Poisk module.

As of Friday, the space station has been continuously crewed for 24 years and 9 months.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX scrubbed today's (July 31) launch attempt of the Crew-11 astronaut mission for NASA.

Launch officials called the scrub just over a minute before liftoff, due to a bank of cumulus clouds that appeared over in the skies over NASA's Kennedy Space Center here.

"Unfortunately, the weather is just not playing alongside with today's excitement on the launch for NASA SpaceX's Crew-11," NASA commentator Derrol Nail said during today's launch coverage.

"We could literally see the clouds kind of going over top of our heads, getting close to the pad, and the standoff area is a 10-mile radius around the pad for these dark clouds, cumulous clouds, and that is a safety factor," Nail added. "That is because you don't want to send a rocket through a tall cloud like that — that could generate some energy from the rocket passing through it."

SpaceX will try again on Friday (Aug. 1) at 11:43 a.m. EDT (1543 GMT). There's another chance on Saturday (Aug. 2) at 11:21 a.m. EDT (1521 GMT).

When it launches, Crew-11 will see a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket take off from Launch Complex 39A at KSC. Atop the rocket is the company's Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft making its sixth flight, a reuse record for Crew Dragon vehicles.

The four crewmembers of Crew-11 are NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Oleg Platonov of Russia's space agency Roscosmos.

When it launches, Crew-11 will embark on a roughly 40-hour flight to catch up with the International Space Station, orbiting at a speed of about 17,500 mph (28,000 kph) some 248 miles (400 kilometers) above the surface of Earth.

As its name implies, Crew-11 will be the eleventh operational astronaut mission SpaceX has flown for NASA, through the agency's Commercial Crew Program, which sees NASA send astronauts to and from the ISS on private spacecraft.

When Crew-11 launches, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from historic Launch Complex 39A here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), sending a crew of four the ISS for a six-month stay. Mission managers with NASA and SpaceX all polled 'go' to proceed to count down towards a 12:09 p.m. ET (1609 GMT) launch attempt of the Crew-11 mission on Thursday (July 31).

"I'm so eager to see this mission launch, but as always, we launch when we're ready. With a little luck, we'll see a launch soon, and we'll also see a crew come home soon," said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, during a prelaunch briefing at KSC today (July 30). "But be patient with us. Let's make sure that the vehicle is ready to go and that our team is really certain before we hit the button."

The four Crew-11 astronauts will dock with the ISS some 39 hours after launch. They will be flying inside SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, flying on its milestone sixth flight. No other Crew Dragon has flown more than four times.

Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, hailed the milestone in today’s briefing. "As you know, this is a really important mission for us. It's our sixth flight of Dragon Endeavour. We worked very hard with SpaceX to complete all the reuse activities for this vehicle," Stich said. "We had certified the vehicles  — the Dragons  — for only five flights. Now we've completed all that work and we're really ready to go."

Crew-11 consists of NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, who will serve as commander on her first trip to space. In a press briefing earlier this month, Cardman stressed how six-month stays on the ISS like the one she will embark on will help prepare NASA to send astronauts much farther into space.

"Understanding how to live and work for long durations — going and staying — is a really interesting challenge, and I'm grateful that we've gotten the chance to do this — to hone our skills on the ISS, so that we can do this for longer durations on the moon," Cardman said.

"The International Space Station, in my perspective, is an absolutely critical stepping stone as we think about going farther afield."

Joining Cardman as mission pilot is veteran NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, making his fourth trip into space. Fincke previously trained to pilot Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft on its first operational mission, but was reassigned as delays and issues continue to plague the Starliner program.

Alongside the two NASA astronauts are Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), making his second trip to the ISS while serving as Crew-11 mission specialist, and Oleg Platonov of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, mission specialist, making his first trip to space.

Crew-11 will dock at 3 a.m. ET (0800 GMT) on Aug. 2 and will overlap with the Crew-10 astronauts for a few days to ensure a smooth handover before Crew-10 makes its way back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

If all goes according to plan, the four members of Crew-11 will remain docked at the ISS for roughly six months before the next NASA astronaut rotation relieves them.

The U.S. Space Force has predicted a 90% chance of favorable weather for Crew-11 at launch time.

In August 2016, while serving as a flight engineer on the space station's 48th expedition crew, Rubins made history by using a USB-powered portable device called MinION to sequence the DNA from a mouse, bacteria and a virus. It was the first time that DNA sequencing had been conducted in the microgravity environment of space.

"From her groundbreaking work in space to her leadership on the ground, Kate has brought passion and excellence to everything she's done," said Joe Acaba, chief of the Astronaut Office at JSC, in a statement. "She's been an incredible teammate and role model. We will miss her deeply, but her impact will continue to inspire."

In addition to her DNA work, Rubins' first spaceflight also included the test of an upgraded Russian Soyuz spacecraft (Soyuz MS-01), as well as 275 other science investigations ranging from cell cultures to fluid dynamics. She also conducted her first two spacewalks; together with fellow NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, Rubins helped install the first of two international docking adapters (IDAs) and retracted a thermal radiator.

Rubins' second stay on the space station (Expedition 63/64) began with another Soyuz launch (Soyuz MS-17). She revisited and furthered her work on DNA sequencing, advancing the day when astronauts might be able to diagnose illnesses or categorize microbes while living on the orbiting laboratory. She performed two more spacewalks, this time with Victor Glover of NASA and Soichi Noguchi with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) to prepare the station for new solar arrays.

In total, Rubins logged 26 hours and 46 minutes on her four extravehicular activities (EVAs).

On the ground, Rubins was appointed the acting deputy director of NASA's Human Health and Performance Directorate and was the Astronaut Office's lead for the development of the spacesuits that Artemis crew members will wear while exploring the south pole of the moon.

Rubins holds a doctorate in cancer biology and works as a microbiologist as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve. She is presently assigned as an innovation officer to the 75th U.S. Army Reserve Innovation Command's MedBio Detachment out of Boston.

"It has been the honor of a lifetime to live and work in space," said Rubins. "I am grateful for the extraordinary advances at NASA, and it was a privilege to serve and contribute to something so meaningful. The mission of exploration continues, and I can't wait to watch this nation do what once seemed impossible."

The astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-11 mission are making their final preparations for their July 31 trip to the International Space Station (ISS).

The four-person crew will lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, riding in the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on July 31, if all goes according to plan. This will be the sixth time that Endeavour has launched to space, making it SpaceX's most-flown Crew Dragon ever.

But two of the spaceflyers on board, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman and Oleg Platonov of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, aren't as seasoned; Crew-11 will be their first flight. The other two, NASA's Mike Fincke and Kimiya Yui from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will be making their fourth and second flight to space, respectively.

Read on to learn more about this international crew launching on the 11th operational astronaut mission that SpaceX has launched to the ISS for NASA.

Zena Cardman (NASA)

Mike Fincke (NASA)

Oleg Platonov (Roscosmos)

Kimiya Yui (JAXA)

If all goes according to plan, Crew-11 will dock at the ISS on Saturday, Aug. 2. Docking is targeted for 3 a.m. ET (0800 GMT), and hatch opening and a welcome ceremony should follow some two hours later.

Crew-11 will spend six months aboard the ISS conducting scientific experiments and routine space station operations. The four Crew-11 astronauts will be relieving the Crew-10 quartet, who will return to Earth a few days later.

What is it?

The Dragon spacecraft is SpaceX's workhorse for moving crew and cargo to the ISS in low-Earth orbit. It's large enough to hold seven crew members. In the photo the spacecraft is seen separating from its trunk as it returns to Earth. The streak is a plasma trail created by intense friction between Dragon's heat shield and atmospheric gases arising as the craft reenter's Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA.

Where is it?

The photo was taken aboard the ISS as the Crew Dragon reentered the atmosphere somewhere above Earth as it headed towards its Pacific Ocean splashdown.

Why is it amazing?

The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission was a mission of firsts, as it sent the first astronauts from Hungary, India and Poland to the ISS, becoming the first ISS astronauts from their countries on the space station. Additionally, Ax-4 commander and NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson extended her record of cumulative days spent by an American in space to 695.

At the ISS, the astronauts spent two weeks running various scientific studies in the microgravity atmosphere. However, their stay was extended by four days to achieve favorable orbital phasing for their return. They flew back to Earth on the SpaceX Dragon capsule before safely landing in the Pacific ocean.

Want to learn more?

You can read more about Axiom Space's private missions, the ISS, and SpaceX's spacecraft.

Welcome home! Four astronauts have returned to Earth following more than two weeks living aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Axiom Space's fourth crewed mission to the ISS, known as Ax-4, concluded early this morning, with the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule "Grace" splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California at 5:32 a.m. EDT (0932 GMT; locally, 2:32 a.m. PDT). Grace undocked from the ISS yesterday (July 14) at 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT), beginning the 22-hour final leg of the crew's journey in space.

On the mission, Ax-4 commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and currently Axiom's director of human spaceflight, extended her record for cumulative days spent by an American in space to 695. Whitson was joined by a trio of first-time astronauts from three different countries, none of which had ever sent a citizen to the ISS before.

Shubhanshu "Shux" Shukla, who served as Ax-4's pilot, hails from India. He is a pilot in the Indian Air Force and one of four astronauts selected for the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, expected sometime in 2027.

Ax-4 mission specialist Sławosz "Suave" Uznański-Wiśniewski, from Poland, is a member of the European Space Agency's (ESA's) astronaut reserve program, and Tibor Kapu, a mission specialist from Hungary, is a member of HUNOR, Hungary's orbital astronaut program.

Ax-4 launched on June 26 from storied Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew aboard Grace lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and docked with the space station a day later. Their mission was expected to last about two weeks but was extended by four days to achieve favorable orbital phasing during their return.

While aboard the ISS, the Ax-4 crew carried out a record number of science investigations and public outreach events. With contributions from a total of 31 different countries, Ax-4 astronauts completed more than 60 experiments and technology demonstrations  — more than any previous Axiom mission.

Ax-4's splashdown this morning followed about 22.5 hours on orbit after their departure from the ISS. After nearly a full day flying their return trajectory, the crew's final minutes before splashdown passed relatively quickly.

Grace began its atmospheric descent at approximately 5:18 a.m. EDT (0918 GMT; locally, 2:18 am PT). Having survived the char of the most unforgiving layers of Earth's upper atmosphere, the spacecraft's drogue parachutes deployed to stabilize its plummet. Shortly thereafter, the Dragon's four main chutes unfolded to slow the capsule's descent even further.

The Ax-4 spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, where it was met by the SpaceX Dragon recovery vessel "Shannon." Once safely hoisted aboard "Shannon," the Ax-4 crew will disembark Grace to begin acclimating to Earth's gravity once again.

This is only SpaceX's second West Coast crew recovery, after the Crew-9 mission to the ISS came down this past March. SpaceX has shifted permanently Pacific Ocean spacecraft recoveries to avoid possible instances of pieces of Dragon's trunk surviving atmospheric reentry and crashing back to Earth, which were reported during some Atlantic Ocean and Gulf returns.

The empty space station docking port left behind after Ax-4's undocking won't remain so for long. The next astronauts launching to the ISS are slated for liftoff no earlier than July 31. That mission, SpaceX's Crew-11, will launch a crew rotation for NASA that's expected to last between six and eight months.

The four astronauts of Axiom Space's latest private mission have concluded their stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Ax-4's SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, named Grace, undocked from the ISS this morning (July 14), carrying the quartet on the last leg of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission.

Undocking occurred at 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT) today. Grace safely maneuvered away from the orbital laboratory, which was the Ax-4's crew's home for the past 2.5 weeks — about half a week longer than originally expected. Grace performed a series of deorbit burns, and is on a trajectory to return to Earth around 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT), Tuesday (July 15).

Ax-4's commander is former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who is now Axiom's director of human spaceflight. "Space Station, Grace," Whitson said over the communication system as the Crew Dragon crossed out of the ISS's safety "keep-out sphere," "The Ax-4 crew wants to thank you very much for your support. You guys are amazing."

Her crewmates are pilot Shubhanshu "Shux" Shukla and mission specialists Sławosz "Suave" Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu. This was the first spaceflight for each of those three. But Ax-4 is Whitson's fifth mission to orbit and raises her current record for most cumulative days in space by an American to 695.

Grace docked to the ISS with the Ax-4 crew aboard on June 26. Their mission, Axiom's fourth to the space station, is an extension of the Houston-based company's previous crewed flights, with research and science investigations aimed at furthering understandings of the microgravity environment.

The Ax-4 crew took on more than 60 experiments and technology demonstrations with contributions from 31 different nations, as well as a number of public outreach events, breaking a record for Axiom as it continues to hone its orbital operations.

Not only was this the first spaceflight for Shux, Suave and Kapu, but they were the first citizens of their respective countries to launch on a mission to the ISS. Shux is a pilot in the Indian Air Force and is one of four astronauts selected for the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) upcoming first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan. Suave is a Polish astronaut from the European Space Agency, and Tibor Kapu is a member of HUNOR, Hungary's orbital astronaut program.

The Ax-4 mission launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 26 from storied Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. The crew spent a little more than a full day catching up to the ISS, and were scheduled to remain aboard the space station for about two weeks. Their mission lasted about four days longer than expected.

Departure procedures began this morning around 4:30 a.m. EDT (0830 GMT), with the Ax-4 crew entering Grace and closing the hatch at 5:07 a.m. EDT (0907 GMT). Now, crew and Dragon are on a 22.5-hour trajectory on course to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California, early Tuesday.

This will only be SpaceX's second West Coast crew recovery. The first was that of the Crew-9 ISS mission in March. SpaceX has shifted permanently to Pacific Ocean rather than Atlantic or Gulf recoveries, after instances of debris from Dragon's trunk surviving atmospheric reentry and crashing back to Earth.

The new reentry path minimizes the chances that such debris could cause damage or injury, SpaceX representatives have said.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the four Ax-4 astronauts is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday around 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT).

You'll be able to watch that milestone live via NASA, SpaceX and Axiom Space, the Houston company that organized the Ax-4 mission. Space.com will carry NASA's feed, if the agency makes it available.

NASA will begin its stream at 4:30 a.m. EDT (0830 GMT) to cover the closing of the hatches between the ISS and the Crew Dragon, which is expected around 4:55 a.m. EDT (0855 GMT).

The agency will pick up its coverage at 6:45 a.m. EDT (1045 GMT) for undocking. SpaceX and Axiom will begin their streams at this time, according to NASA.

NASA did not provide an estimated time for Ax-4's splashdown back on Earth, which will occur in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast. The agency did say, however, that Axiom will stream the mission's reentry and return on the company's website.

Ax-4 is commanded by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who has spent more total time in space than any other American (nearly 700 days!) and now serves as Axiom's director of human spaceflight.

Her crewmates are mission pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India; Polish mission specialist Sławosz Uznański, who's a European Space Agency astronaut; and mission specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. These three are the first people from their respective countries ever to visit the ISS.

Ax-4 launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 25 and arrived at the ISS a day later.

The four private astronauts have performed more than 60 scientific experiments and outreach activities during their time in orbit, which was expected to be two weeks. That was always a rough estimate, however: Dragon departure dates from the ISS are flexible, dependent on weather conditions near the splashdown site.

As its name suggests, Ax-4 is the fourth crewed ISS mission that Axiom has operated. The other three launched in April 2022, May 2023 and January 2024. All have used SpaceX hardware.

Houston-based company Axiom Space's fourth crewed mission to space is nearing its end, and its four astronauts are filling every last minute with science, amazing views of Earth and pierogis.

The crew of Axiom-4 (Ax-4) have been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked there on June 26. Their days have been filled with more than 60 research experiments and outreach events, breaking an Axiom mission record for on-orbit activities.

Lucie Low, Axiom's chief scientist, spoke with the Ax-4 crew during a mission science briefing on July 5. The four astronauts discussed some of the experiments they have been working on during their time aboard the orbital laboratory.

Ax-4 is commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who's currently Axiom's director of human spaceflight. She also holds the record for most cumulative days in space by an American, which is inching closer to 700 with each additional day she remains aboard the ISS. Before this mission, her record stood at 675. Whitson has been a helpful voice of experience as her crew navigates life in microgravity, according to Axiom.

Whitson explained to Low that the research the Ax-4 astronauts are conducting on orbit is not only helping the science community, but also the growing number of international partnerships in space. Whitson's crew includes mission pilot Shubhanshu "Shux" Shukla from India and mission specialists Sławosz "Suave" Uznański, a Polish astronaut from the European Space Agency, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The experiments they're conducting represent contributions from a total of 31 countries.

"Axiom-4 is a government-sponsored research mission for a global space community," Whitson said.

"I am so proud that ISRO [the Indian Space Research Organization] has been able to collaborate with national institutions all over the country," Shux told Low. "They came up with some fantastic research."

Axiom has published daily updates during the mission, describing experiment progress and highlighting outreach events that different Ax-4 crew members have taken part in, including a microalgae investigation Shux is working on to measure the affects of microgravity on the organism's biology and its potential use as an in-space resource.

Kapu boasted about Hungary's skill in dosimetry research. He has been taking part in a technology demonstration using the Rad Nano Dosimeter, a miniature device designed to be continuously worn to monitor a body's radiation exposure, carbon dioxide levels and the effects of magnetic fields. He is also cultivating radishes and peppers aboard the ISS, which he said are growing "extremely fast."

Suave told Low one of the experiments that has excited him the most is a brainwave interface device that allows someone to control a machine with only their brain — the first time such a demonstration has been conducted in space. Suave also took time alongside Whitson for another video downlink on July 6, Ax-4's flight day 12.

The pair spoke with Sonya Gavankar McKay, Axiom's director of digital strategy, from the space station's Columbus module. McKay virtually joined Whitson and Suave for a mission update and to share a quick meal.

Holding a food packet identical to one used by the Ax-4 crew in space, McKay speared her fork through a pierogi as she asked Suave how to say, "enjoy your meal," in Polish ("ciesz się posiłkiem," according to Google Translate).

Suave and Whitson, also with pierogis on their forks, let them float weightlessly in front of the camera for close-ups. "Pierogi is a very Polish dish," Suave explained, describing the cuisine as a quintessential comfort food.

He was also asked about some of his photography and the views he has captured of Earth from space. "I try to capture every moment," Suave said, adding that any free time he has, he spends by the ISS' giant cupola windows, staring back down at the planet below.

Potentially nearing the end of their scheduled two weeks in space, McKay asked Whitson how the Ax-4 had adjusted to the realities of weightlessness. Despite the crew's packed schedule, Whitson says they have managed to get the hang of things.

"What's amazing is how much the guys have really gotten their space legs," she said. "They're really getting very efficient and working much more efficiently, and they're way less stressed."

Following their SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on June 25, Ax-4 is expected to remain on orbit for about two weeks. Their earliest return would be July 10, but Axiom, SpaceX and NASA have yet to confirm a date.

The crew's departure from the ISS is largely dependent on weather at their spacecraft's splashdown site in the Pacific Ocean, with some wiggle room built in to the visiting crew's stay aboard the space station in the event of a delay. The departures of both the Ax-1 and Ax-3 missions were held up nearly a week due to unfavorable weather at their splashdown zones.

In June 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to reach the final frontier, on the STS-7 mission of the space shuttle Challenger.

She rode Challenger to space again in October 1984, on the STS-41-G mission. This flight was groundbreaking as well; it was the first spaceflight ever to feature two female crewmembers. (The other woman in the seven-person crew was NASA astronaut Kathryn Sullivan.)

Some mementoes from these flights, and from the path that Ride — a physicist with a doctorate from Stanford University — took to the launch pad came up for auction last Thursday (June 26) in Los Angeles. And there was quite a bit of interest.

The mementoes — a set of more than 50 pieces called the Sally Ride Estate Collection — sold for a total of $145,666, according to Nate D. Sanders Auctions, which organized the event.

The 1978 acceptance letter that welcomed Ride as a member of NASA's Astronaut Group 8 — the first one in the agency's history to include women — brought $5,046. Her official astronaut badge sold for $4,915, and the diary she kept during the STS-41-G mission went for $9,694.

Even more lucrative was Ride's Apollo 11 Robbins medal, which flew to the moon and back during the iconic first-ever crewed lunar landing mission in 1969; it sold for $17,690. Another Robbins medal that Ride owned, which flew on the first-ever space shuttle mission in April 1981, sold for $13,401.

You can peruse the collection, and the price that each piece brought, via Nate D. Sanders Auctions.

Ride, who died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 61 in 2012, was a pioneer in more ways than one: She's also the first known LGBTQ+ person to reach the final frontier.

Ride did not reveal her sexual orientation during her spaceflight career; the revelation came via an obituary published just after her death by Sally Ride Science, the STEM outreach company she launched with Tam O'Shaughnessy in 2001. That obituary identified O'Shaughnessy as Ride's life partner and said they had been together for 27 years.

Three NASA astronauts living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) marked Independence Day with a few heartfelt words for their compatriots here on Earth.

It was written by the American members of the station's current Expedition 73 mission, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim and Anne McClain.

All three are members of the U.S military — Ayers is a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, McClain is an Army colonel and Kim is a lieutenant commander in the Navy, as well as a former SEAL — so Independence Day has a special meaning for them.

"This is a special holiday for me. It just reminds us of the freedom that we get to enjoy and that we have enjoyed for so many years," Ayers said in a 160-second video, which was recorded on June 16 but posted by NASA on Thursday (July 3).

"Protecting that freedom is important to all of us here as military officers, but also NASA astronauts," she added. "And we are proud to serve our country, both on Earth and in space."

"For me, the Fourth of July represents the responsibilities that we each have — to whom much is given, much is expected," McClain said. "Our forefathers gave us the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and every generation must protect that for future generations."

Kim said the Fourth of July is a "deep day of reflection" for him, an occasion to remember American ideals and honor the sacrifices of those who have helped uphold them.

"And to those following our mission, the spirit of exploration, just like the spirit of freedom and democracy, is what has made our country so great," he added.

The trio spoke in front of a large American flag, which they had affixed to an ISS module wall. They also provided more patriotic flair toward the end of the video: All three did a celebratory backflip, revealing socks with a stars-and-stripes theme.

Ayers, McClain and Kim aren't the only Americans currently living on the orbiting lab. It also houses record-setting former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who's now the director of human spaceflight for the Houston-based company Axiom Space.

Whitson is commanding Axiom's four-person Ax-4 mission, which arrived at the ISS on June 26 for a roughly two-week stay. Her three crewmates are pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India; mission specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, a European Space Agency astronaut from Poland; and mission specialist Tibor Kapu, who hails from Hungary.

There are four other people on station at the moment as well, all of them members of Expedition 73: cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, as well as Takuya Onishi of JAXA (the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

Virts hopes to flip the seat currently held by Sen. John Cornyn (R), who is up for reelection in 2026. Virts is the first Democrat to enter what is likely to be a crowded primary field, and he's already differentiating himself from what he views as D.C.'s "do-nothing Democrats."

His background as a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, F-16 pilot and two-time crewmember of the International Space Station (ISS) — where he also served as commander — have shaped his worldview and approach to leadership. Virts sat down with Space.com recently to discuss his candidacy, vision for Texas and the effects that turbulent shifts in America's current political landscape may have on space policy and exploration.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. A full video of Space.com's 40-minute conversation with Virts is available on YouTube. The video embedded above covers the questions and answers included herein.

Terry Virts flew aboard space shuttle Endeavour as pilot for the STS-130 mission in 2010 and later took command of the ISS in 2015. Over the course of his NASA career, he spent over 212 days in space. Since retiring, Virts has stayed active in the public sphere through writing, speaking engagements and promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

Director Ron Howard's harrowing true tale of the unlucky Apollo 13 mission to the moon in 1970 still stands as one of the finest space survival movies of all time and a testament to the unprecedented acts of courage and ingenuity that brought three astronauts back to Earth in a damaged spacecraft. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture, and ultimately won Oscars for Best Sound and Best Editing.

Adapted from Jim Lovell & Jeffrey Kluger's 1994 book "Lost Moon" and starring Tom Hanks, Ed Harris, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise and Kathleen Quinlan, "Apollo 13" was released in theaters on June 30, 1995. It was hailed as a tense, technically accurate, and riveting account of that imperiled lunar mission that nearly cost the lives of astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert when the oxygen tank on their spacecraft's service module exploded, damaging the craft's life-support and electrical systems.

Keeping the production nominal and on track in an official advisory role was NASA living legend Gerry Griffin. The former Johnson Space Center chief and flight director for 11 manned Apollo missions was Hollywood's go-to expert on "Apollo 13's" entire shoot, and eh worked closely with cast and crew to provide guidance and authenticity to the project. He even has his own custom director's chair at home to prove it!

Who better to provide first-hand mission details than the man whose Gold Team would have been Apollo 13's landing team had things gone according to plan? We were fortunate enough to be able to connect with Griffin from his Texas home where he shared more vivid memories of working on "Apollo 13" back in 1994 and 1995.

"I started at the top," Griffin told Space.com. "When I got the call to be the technical advisor I thought, 'Gosh, I've got to do that.' Because I was in the middle of it as a flight director and thought I could bring something to it that would help. I started with Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon. I knew nothing about making movies. My view of Hollywood was all glitz and little else, but at the end of the day I quickly learned that I was wrong. It's a hard-working, goal-driven enterprise that tries to get it right. The good guys do.

"After a while though, it was kind of like NASA. Take whatever time it takes, work 12 to 15 hours a day, work the problem."

In addition to "Apollo 13," Griffin later lent his expertise to Robert Zemeckis' "Contact" and Mimi Seder's "Deep Impact."

"The way Ron [Howard] explained it to me when we started was, 'Look, I'm not making a documentary. I'm making an entertaining movie based on facts.' That was his goal. He wanted me to stay glued to his side and if I saw something that was wrong, that didn't happen that way, to tell him. He had to have license to do certain things and I know where he took them.

"It didn't affect the technical details, but he was amazing and also an extremely nice guy. He was Opie grown up! And it turns out that Bill Paxton and I went to the same high school in Forth Worth, Texas. You always find connections when you start making movies."

Regarding the dramatic crew swap-out from Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinese) to Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) depicted in the film after Mattingly was possibly exposed to the measles, Griffin said there definitely were some added touches of intensity tacked onto those scenes from real-life.

"I thought the switchover right before launch was kind of overdone," he notes. "It showed we had backup crews that were ready to step in throughout the whole program. To us it was just, 'Okay, next up, let's go.' But it was good and it turned out well."

On the subject of necessary alterations to scenes or small suggestions, Griffin remembers some, but in the total service of the on-screen story, nothing was too egregious. Having a tour group led by Hanks inside NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building right beside the Apollo 11 mission's Saturn V rocket while it was being stacked was a bit of a stretch to say the least, but hey, that's Hollywood.

"In that opening scene when they're in Jim Lovell’s house watching the Apollo 11 landing, that didn't happen. But Ron told me that it gives him the opportunity to introduce a bunch of characters that are going to be in this movie for the rest of the time. He can get them all introduced that night.

"There was another scene that stands out and I thought at first, 'Oh gosh, it didn't happen this way.' It's when they were working on the lithium hydroxide canisters that scrubbed the air in the cabin. The lunar module was only good for a four or five-day mission and then it was done, so it didn't have many round canisters that fit in their slots that they had to change those filters to keep the CO2 out of. The command module used square canisters and we had plenty of those so we had to figure out a way to use those. We put an engineer named Ed Smiley in charge and he got a group together and read from a list of all their onboard equipment.

"They didn't have it in their hands yet. They found the solution, went and made one like they wanted, and brought it into the Control Center. I was in there when they brought it in.

"In the movie, the way they got to the solution is the guy that played Ed walked in with this bag of stuff and dumps it on the table and says 'okay, this is what they've got'. Ron told me, 'Gerry, this is not a documentary. We're gonna get to the same solution.' And we were laughing about this and it was fine."

The Gene Kranz character that Ed Harris portrayed was actually a composite and Griffin worked one-on-one with the acclaimed actor because he wanted to be prepared and get the role right.

"There were four flight teams that worked on the Apollo 13 mission and I was one of those four," he explains. "Ron came to me earlier and side he didn't have time to develop four characters that stand alone in the phases of the mission and asked if I'd be upset with a combined character."

In actuality, Griffin recalls that Gene Kranz was taken off-line during those crucial hours of the mission so he could go figure out how to get the command module turned back on after they'd powered it down, something that hadn't ever been done in space, only plugged in while on the ground.

"He came back in and did that powering up the command module toward the end of the mission. It was fortuitous that we had four teams so we didn't have to add any manpower. My team was supposed to do the landing on the moon, of course that got bypassed pretty fast. The part that Ed played was a little more serious than Gene actually was and is still. The vest was something that started in Gemini I think, but maybe Apollo. But he wasn't presented it, he wore it into the room, and they really were made by his wife.

"When we got to a mission there were no Chief Flight Directors. There might be composite decisions and Neil Armstrong used to repeat it all the time. Mission Control and the astronauts were just the tip of the iceberg. There was huge support below us from contractors and other centers. I was told, and can't confirm it, that we were even offered help from the Soviet Union. Everybody wanted to help and it was worldwide viewers that watched this. I think that's what made the movie even more poignant, that it brought that out because there was a lot of footage from that era in there."

Griffin was also on hand to view all the daily film rushes with Howard and to speak up if he observed anything that seemed off. When he witnessed the final product all put together, he was extremely pleased.

"It was really good," he adds. "And I learned a lot about moviemaking in it, not all that I would eventually. But I know when you have people like Ron Howard and Tom Hanks and Bob Zemeckis and Jodie Foster [On "Contact"], you're ahead of the game. It's a hard-working bunch of people.

"I was very impressed with them and I'm proud of the move that came out of it. Ron did what he said what he was going to do. He wanted it technically accurate but he had to have some license to tell the story in a more entertaining way. He said he'd read the transcript of the air-to-ground communication and said that it sounded like just a normal flight to him. We weren't excited!”

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Transporter-14 rideshare mission June 23, sending 70 payloads from different customers into orbit. The satellites included cubesats and other spacecraft bound for low-Earth orbit, as well as two reentry capsule designed for recovery back on Earth.

The first came from Varda Space — the company's fourth "Winnebago" series spacecraft designed to test first-of-its-kind on-orbit pharmaceutical manufacturing. Its mission is still underway. The second, Tranporter-14's largest payload and the last to be released, was European spacecraft manufacturer The Exploration Company's "Mission Possible" Nyx capsule, carrying remains contributed by loved ones through Celestis Memorial Spaceflights.

Celestis offers various tiers of space memorial services that range all the way to launching remains into deep space. Their "Earth Rise" package includes launching DNA of customers' deceased loved ones (or even pets) into space and returning them to Earth. Unfortunately, their return this time around did not go as smoothly as planned.

For their 25th launch, dubbed "The Perseverance Flight", Celestis paired with The Exploration Company's Mission Possible to carry its memorial payload to space and back aboard the Nyx capsule. At least that was the plan.

Nyx performed nominally throughout its entire mission, all the way up until just minutes before its expected Pacific Ocean splashdown. "The capsule was launched successfully, powered the payloads nominally in-orbit, stabilized itself after separation with the launcher, re-entered and re-established communication after black out," the company wrote in an online update.

For any spacecraft reentering through Earth's atmosphere, a period of communication blackout occurs as intense friction with surrounding air forms a layer of superheated plasma around a vessel's hull. Following the most intense stages of falling back from orbit, communications are typically reestablished during a ship's last stretch to landing. Nyx's return, up to that point, was no different — until it was.

The Exploration Company's capsule encountered an anomaly shortly after reestablishing communications. "[Nyx] encountered an issue afterwards, based on our current best knowledge, and we lost communication a few minutes before splash down. We are still investigating the root causes and will share more information soon," the company said in their update.

Nyx's parachute failed to deploy, according to a later statement form Celestis. "The parachute system failed, resulting in the Nyx capsule impacting the Pacific Ocean and dispersing its contents at sea," they said. In short, the capsule and its contents plummeted into the drink.

"Though we currently believe that we cannot return the flight capsules, we hope families will find some peace in knowing their loved ones were part of a historic journey, launched into space, orbited Earth, and are now resting in the vastness of the Pacific, akin to a traditional and honored sea scattering," Celestis said.

The Exploration Company echoed that sentiment. "We apologize to all our clients who entrusted us with their payloads," their update reads.

Mission Possible was The Exploration Company's second foray into space, and the first for its Nyx capsule, which they are designing with the intent of transporting crew and cargo to and from LEO and beyond. And they aren't letting the snag at the end of the endeavor slow them down.

"We have been pushing boundaries in record time and cost. This partial success reflects both ambition and the inherent risks of innovation. Leveraging the technical milestones achieved yesterday and the lessons we will extract from our ongoing investigation, we will then prepare to re-fly as soon as possible," the company said.

Houston-based Axiom Space launched its fourth crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) early Wednesday (June 25), lifting off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KCS), in Florida. The mission lifted off from KSC's Launch Complex-39A at 2:31 a.m. EDT (0631 GMT).

After a particularly long orbital chase — 28 hours between launch and rendezvous — the crew's Dragon spacecraft docked with the space station Thursday morning, at 6:31 a.m. (1031 GMT).

The Ax-4 astronauts rode a brand-new SpaceX crew Dragon to orbit. As such, naming rights for the spacecraft fell to the crew, who revealed their choice shortly after launch. Their pick: Grace.

Aboard Crew Dragon Grace is former NASA astronaut and Axiom's director of human spaceflight Peggy Whitson. Whitson holds the record for cumulative days spent in space by an American. That number began climbing again following her launch Wednesday, and is counting upward from 675. Her record will reach just shy of 700 days by the time the two-week Ax-4 mission returns to Earth.

Whitson is commander for Ax-4, and is joined by a trio of international, government-sponsored crew members: Shubhanshu Shukla, from India, serving as mission pilot, Polish mission specialist Sławosz Uznański of the European Space Agency, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, also a mission specialist. The latter three are the first from their nations to journey on a mission to the ISS.

Crew Dragon Grace docked with the zenith (space-facing) port on the station's Harmony module. Hatches between spacecraft and ISS were opened at 8:14 a.m. EDT (1214 GMT), with the station's current crew awaiting the ingress of the Ax-4 astronauts for a short welcome ceremony.

"With your arrival right now, there are 11 astronauts from six countries, and all of us are here in order to advance human space exploration and scientific research, symbolizing international cooperation. So from this moment, you are also a part of Expedition 73," said Exp. 73 commander JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi during opening remarks. "Welcome aboard," he added, before handing off the microphone to his new crewmates as they received their astronaut wings.

"We're looking forward to getting a lot of work done with you guys, and I really appreciate all the support you provided for to us in advance of actually even getting here," Whitson said in response.

"I'm very, very confident that the next 14 days are going to be amazing, advancing science and research and working together," said Shukla, mentioning that the view so far had surpassed his expectations.

"This is an ultimate scientific laboratory where we come to do science, to test the technologies of our countries, to do technology demonstrations and science outreach that I can't wait to do for the for the next two weeks, and we will all try to do our best representing our countries," Uznański said as he was handed the microphone.

Finally, as his wings were clipped to his jumpsuit, "I really feel that this is the best crew that you could join. It really feels great to be part of Expedition 73," said Kapu. "I'm 100% sure that this is going to be awesome."

The Ax-4 astronauts will spend about 14 days aboard the orbiting lab, completing a record number of science investigations and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) outreach events. In total, they have over 60 experiments to undertake — more than any previous Axiom mission to date.

The crew's return date is largely dependent on weather at Dragon's splashdown zone in the Pacific Ocean. It will be SpaceX's second West Coast crew recovery, following a shift from Atlantic Ocean or Gulf recoveries due to the potential for spacecraft debris surviving atmospheric reentry and crashing back to Earth.

That flight — known as Ax-4, because it's the fourth crewed trip to the ISS by Houston company Axiom Space — lifted off on Wednesday morning (June 11) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Space Coast.

Ax-4 is carrying four people from four different nations to the orbiting lab, so the mission's larder is quite diverse.

For example, Ax-4 pilot Shubhanshu Shukla is bringing up some delicacies from his native India, including a variety of sweets.

During a press conference on June 3, Shukla said he's carrying mango nectar to the orbiting lab, as well as moong dal halwa and carrot halwa. (Halwa is a sweet dish made by roasting lentils, wheat or flour in ghee, then boiling that mixture in sugary milk.)

"Some of them are my favorites, and I am so happy to be able to carry them, share it with my colleagues and also the astronauts who are on the station right now," Shukla said.

Ax-4 mission specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary said he has packed some "space chocolate," which was provided by Stuhmer, a company from his native land.

"They modified one of their traditional models of chocolate, basically to comply with NASA rules," Kapu said during the press conference. "So we are extremely happy to fly that, because for us it, it brings tradition and innovation together."

Also going up are several spicy, paprika-like Hungarian pastes, he added.

"I'm extremely happy about those as well, because we tend to eat less salty foods on the International Space Station, because it actually contributes to bone loss," Kapu said.

"So, because of that, astronauts tend to like, you know, spicy, and those [pastes] are really spicy," he added. "We had also the chance to try this out in quarantine. And let me just tell you, we have so many coworkers here who found these excellent, and they just love it."

Fellow mission specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, put together an entire menu for Ax-4. Polish chef and restaurateur Mateusz Gessler helped in this endeavor, as did Lyofood, a family-run Polish company with freeze-drying expertise.

That menu features pierogi, the famous Polish stuffed dumplings, as well as "tomato soup with noodles, Polish 'leczo' stew with buckwheat, and apple crumble for dessert," ESA officials said in a statement.

"I wanted a truly Polish menu that I could share with my fellow astronauts," Uznański-Wiśniewski said in the same statement. "Food brings psychological comfort, and I instantly thought it would be worth taking some Polish delicacies into orbit."

The fourth Ax-4 crewmember is commander Peggy Whitson, a record-setting former NASA astronaut who currently serves as Axiom's director of human spaceflight. She didn't discuss her food choices during the June 3 press conference (though she did seem enthusiastic about Kapu's spicy Hungarian pastes).

Ax-4 is historic; it will mark the first time that anyone from India, Hungary or Poland has lived on board the ISS. The mission is flying to the orbiting lab in a brand-new SpaceX Dragon and will spend about two weeks up there, during which time the crew will conduct about 60 different scientific experiments.

A newborn Dragon has just roared into space.

SpaceX's newest Dragon spacecraft launched on its debut mission this morning (June 25), sending the four-person Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for Houston-based company Axiom Space.

Ax-4's SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 2:31 a.m. EDT (0631 GMT) this morning from Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

As is tradition, the crew of a spacecraft's first launch are awarded naming rights. That honor fell to Ax-4 for this new Dragon; the astronauts named it "Grace," which they revealed once they reached the orbit.

Originally slated to launch June 11, the mission has faced two full weeks of delays. High altitude winds postponed Ax-4's first attempt. A leak in the launch vehicle caused another delay, but the most recent, and longest standing holdup of the launch was a leak aboard the ISS.

The station's aftmost module, Zvezda, has experienced an ongoing leak for more than five years now, but has remained stable during that time. Last week, a change in the pressure data that monitors the leak prompted NASA to delay Ax-4 while they monitored the issue. Monday, June 23, NASA announced Ax-4's new launch date, but did not provide a definitive update on the leak.

Ax-4 is commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who is currently Axiom's director of human spaceflight. She's joined on the mission by pilot Shubhanshu Shukla and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu.

This is the first spaceflight for the latter trio, who are also the first from their countries— India, Poland and Hungary, respectively — to fly a mission to the ISS. Ax-4 is Whitson's fifth launch to orbit, and will bring her cumulative time spent in space to nearly 700 days, extending her own record as the United States' most-flown astronaut.

The Ax-4 quartet will spend about two weeks aboard the orbiting lab, where they'll conduct more than 60 science experiments and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) outreach events — the highest number on any Axiom mission to date.

Shortly after sunset Tuesday evening, the Ax-4 crew boarded a pair of Tesla Model X SUVs outside KSC's Vehicle Assembly Building and departed for the sleeping Dragon awaiting them at the launch pad. With the crew safely strapped in and Dragon's hatch closed, the SpaceX mission operators polled "go" to begin fast-fueling Falcon 9's kerosene-liquid oxygen propellant at T-45 minutes.

At liftoff, the rocket's nine Merlin engines carried the Falcon 9 high into the starry Florida sky, pushing through Earth's atmosphere to complete its first phase of flight within the first two minutes. At approximately T+2.5 minutes, Falcon 9 executed main engine cutoff, followed immediately by stage separation and ignition of the rocket's second-stage engine and the first stage's initial boostback burn.

As the Falcon 9's second stage continued to carry Dragon and the Ax-4 crew into low-Earth orbit (LEO), the rocket's first stage headed back toward the Space Coast. The booster, with the tail number B1094, performed a second deceleration burn and final landing burn, touching down safely about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) downrange of Pad 39A, on SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This was the second flight of B1094, which launched the Starlink 12-10 mission April 28.

About a minute later, the Falcon 9's second stage completed its orbital insertion and deployed Dragon to begin the final leg of Ax-4's journey to the space station.

The crew shared images of their mission's zero-g indicator, a plush baby swan toy named Joy.

Poland, Hungary and India have all had astronauts fly to space before, but never to the ISS.

The Ax-4 crew will spend about 14 days aboard the space station. They'll live and work alongside the seven long-term occupants of ISS Expedition 73, which consists of NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers and Jonny Kim, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Kirill Peskov and Alexey Zubritsky.

Whitson voiced excitement for the mission and the opportunities created by flying with such a diverse crew during an Ax-4 press conference in January.

"It has been more than 40 years since the first person from India, Poland and Hungary has been to space, and through this commercial space opportunity we are accelerating the national space programs in each of these three countries and creating new pathways for technological advancements," Whitson said at the time. "I'm sure this crew is going to be inspiring a whole new generation of young people."

This is the second Axiom astronaut mission to the ISS that has been sponsored in part by another national government or the European Space Agency (ESA). Of the 60 experiments to be carried out by the Ax-4 crew, 17 are being supported by ESA and Poland, and 25 through Hungary's orbital astronaut program HUNOR.

"Each country who comes brings something different than what we have in the normal suite of what we see for our research," said NASA's ISS program manager Dana Weigel during a May 20 Ax-4 press call. "It really expands the breadth of what we can do with research and the number of countries, institutions, academic organizations, etc., who participate."

Shukla was born in 1985 — one year after the first Indian in space, Rakesh Sharma, launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft on the Indo-Soviet Soyuz T-11 mission.

"I was deeply, deeply impressed by him," Shukla said during January's crew conference, referring to Sharma. Shukla is a pilot in the Indian Air Force, and was selected as one of the four astronauts for the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, which is slated to launch sometime in 2027.

Uznański-Wiśniewski has been inspired by space his whole life, he told reporters in January. He was born on April 12, 1984 — the 23rd anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic first flight to space.

"For as long as I can remember, every year for my birthday, my mom was always wishing me a happy 'Cosmo day,'" he told reporters. "I was always interested in how the world works around us."

He's now a member of ESA's Astronaut Reserve Class of 2022 and an accomplished scientist and engineer, including a stint as engineer in charge of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

Kapu, the youngest of the group, was born in 1991. A mechanical engineer with a master's degree in polymer technology, Kapu's work focused on space radiation protection at an aerospace technology company until his selection by HUNOR's astronaut program.

"Our goal with the [HUNOR] program is to gain our foothold in the space community, to contribute to the global space industry and academia in all the ways we can, and to sit at the same table with the giants, with the bigger players," Kapu said in January.

The Ax-4 quartet will spend a little more than a day catching up to the ISS; Dragon is scheduled to dock with the dorsal port of the station's Harmony module at approximately 7:00 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) Thursday, June 26.

A livestream of the mission's rendezvous procedures will begin a couple hours prior to docking, and will continue through hatch opening between Dragon and the ISS. That will be followed by a short welcome ceremony for the Ax-4 crew.

Ax-4 will remain docked to the ISS for about two weeks, as the crew work their way through the mission's gamut of science and technology demonstrations. Their return is scheduled sometime during the second week of July, and will be dependent, in part, on weather in the Dragon's splashdown zone.

The return of Ax-4 will be the second crew recovery of a Dragon off the United States' West Coast. SpaceX shifted its recovery efforts to the Pacific after several instances of debris from Dragon's discarded trunk survived atmospheric reentry, and crashed into Earth during previous splashdowns off the coast of Florida.

Axiom's fourth astronaut mission (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS) has a new launch date. The crew of four will liftoff aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than June 25, NASA announced Monday evening (June 23).

Liftoff is scheduled for 2:31 a.m. EDT (0631 GMT) from Launch Complex-39A, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, in Florida.. The launch had been indefinitely delayed last week due to a leak detected aboard the ISS. No update was given about that leak in NASA's announcement of the new launch date.

The leak in the station's Zvezda module isn't new, but a change in the pressure data that measures the leak's severity prompted NASA and Axiom to postpone the Ax-4 launch until safety could be assured.

The Ax-4 crew consists of former NASA astronaut and Axiom's director of human spaceflight Peggy Whitson. Whitson will serve as mission commander to Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu, from Hungary. All three will be the first astronauts from their respecitve nations to launch on a mission to the ISS.

The mission is expected to last two weeks. While aboard the orbiting lab, the Ax-4 crew will conduct more science experiments and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) outreach events than any previous Axiom mission — more than 60 in total.

If all stays on schedule with Wednesday's early morning launch, the crew's Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the ISS at approximately 7:00 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) Thursday, June 26. A livestream of the launch and rendezvous will be lived stream on Space.com.