In 2023, Crew NASA's Mission 70 experienced the celebrations in a unique way: Going Christmas and New Year revolve around the Earth. In a series of events marking the conclusion of 2023, two spacecraft recently separated from the International Space Station, leaving astronauts in a heavenly setting to celebrate.
NASA reported, on December 22, 2023, under the supervision of the astronaut Laurel O'Hara NASA spaceship The swan It was launched from the International Space Station using the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Cygnus, which has been docked with Unity since August 4, 2023, carries the SAFFIRE-VI experiment on board to investigate fire safety in space. Cygnus is expected to orbit independently until early January before disintegrating in a controlled manner over the South Pacific Ocean.
At the same time, SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship completed its mission, spontaneously detaching from the Harmony module and parachuting off the coast of Florida, carrying with it important samples and instrumentation for ground-based analysis.
At the station, O'Hara focused on combustion research, while astronauts Yasmin Moghbeli of NASA and Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (ESA) were assigned to laboratory maintenance. Moghbeli repaired a spacesuit and conducted experiments using fiber optics, while Mogensen worked to improve training programs for both Earth and space.
For his part, the aviation engineer said: Satoshi Furukawa The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency prepared an interactive event for the Japanese public and conducted inspections of the Kibo module. Oleg Kononenko, a veteran astronaut, and Konstantin Borisov focused on heart research in microgravity. Nikolai Chub contributed to the installation of new smoke detectors and the activation of the 3D printing experiment.
The seven members of Mission 70Representatives representing various international space agencies will continue research and maintenance of the laboratory in the last week of 2023. In addition, they will have time to relax, open gifts, share meals, and bond with their families during the holidays. The crew sends their thoughts and well wishes from orbit, symbolizing a message of unity and exploration this holiday season.
