A new international crew has arrived at the International Space Station to begin a science mission, replacing a team that made an early medical evacuation
WASHINGTON: A new four-person crew has docked at the International Space Station for an eight-month science mission. The arrival of Crew-12 restores the orbiting lab’s full complement after it was left with a skeleton crew of three.
The astronauts blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Their journey to the ISS took approximately 34 hours.
“We have bridged the legacy of humankind’s continuous presence in space spanning more than 25 years at this very site,” said American astronaut Jessica Meir after docking. “As we look back at Earth from these windows, we are reminded that cooperation is not just possible, it is essential.”
Crew-12 replaces Crew-11, which returned to Earth in January a month earlier than planned. That early return marked the first medical evacuation in the space station’s history, though NASA has declined to disclose details of the health issue.
The new crew consists of American astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Meir, a former marine biologist, will serve as the crew’s commander.
During their stay, the astronauts will conduct numerous experiments. A key focus will be research into the effects of microgravity on the human body.
Adenot, the second French woman to fly into space, will test a new medical system. It uses artificial intelligence and augmented reality to allow astronauts to perform their own medical ultrasounds.
“I am proud to bring France and Europe along on this incredible adventure that transcends borders,” Adenot said.
Crew-12 will be among the last crews to live aboard the aging ISS. Continuously inhabited for a quarter-century, the football field-sized station is scheduled to be deorbited and crashed into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean in 2030.
The ISS remains a rare area of continued cooperation between the West and Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, geopolitical tensions have still touched the program.
Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev was originally planned for Crew-12 but was suddenly removed from the mission. Independent Russian media reported he was accused of photographing and sending classified information from a SpaceX facility.
His replacement, Fedyaev, has previous experience on the station as part of Crew-6 in 2023.
