Parachutes sluggish the descent of the Dragon Endurance spacecraft carrying NASA and ESA astronauts from the SpaceX Crew-3 mission. Credit score: NASA
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts aboard the Dragon Endurance spacecraft safely splashed down Friday within the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida, finishing the company’s third long-duration industrial crew mission to the Worldwide Area Station. The worldwide crew of 4 spent 177 days in orbit.
NASA astronauts Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, and Tom Marshburn, and ESA (European Area Company) astronaut Matthias Maurer returned to Earth in a parachute-assisted splashdown at 12:43 a.m. EDT. Groups aboard SpaceX restoration vessels recovered the spacecraft and astronauts. After returning to shore, the astronauts will fly again to NASA’s Johnson Area Heart in Houston.
The SpaceX Dragon Endurance crew ship returns to Earth within the Gulf of Mexico for a nighttime splashdown with 4 industrial crew astronauts inside. Credit score: NASA
“NASA’s partnership with SpaceX has once more empowered us to ship a crew safely to the house station and again, enabling groundbreaking science that may assist our astronauts journey farther out into the cosmos than ever earlier than. This mission is only one extra instance that we're actually within the golden period of business spaceflight,” stated NASA Administrator Invoice Nelson. “Kayla, Raja, Tom, and Matthias, thanks to your service and welcome house!”
The Crew-3 mission launched on November 10, 2021, on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Area Heart in Florida. Practically 24-hours after liftoff, November 11, Endurance docked to the Concord module’s ahead house station port. The astronauts undocked from the identical port at 1:05 a.m. Might 5, to start the journey house.
From left to proper, ESA (European Area Company) astronaut Matthais Maurer, NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, are seen contained in the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX Shannon restoration ship shortly after having landed within the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa, Florida, Friday, Might 6, 2022. Maurer, Marshburn, Chari, and Barron are returning after 177 days in house as a part of Expeditions 66 and 67 aboard the Worldwide Area Station. Credit score: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
Barron, Chari, Marshburn, and Maurer traveled 75,060,792 miles throughout their mission, spent 175 days aboard the house station, and accomplished 2,832 orbits round Earth. Marshburn has logged 339 days in house over his three flights. The Crew-3 mission was the primary spaceflight for Barron, Chari, and Maurer.
All through their mission, the Crew-3 astronauts contributed to a number of science and upkeep actions and know-how demonstrations. As well as, they carried out three spacewalks to carry out station upkeep and upgrades outdoors the house station. This introduced the whole variety of spacewalks for Marshburn to 5, whereas Chari and Barron have every accomplished two, and Maurer one.
NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron in addition to ESA (European Area Company) astronaut Matthias Maurer, returned to Earth for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida on Might 6, 2022, finishing their six-month mission dwelling and dealing aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific information and reveal new applied sciences for future human and robotic exploration flights as a part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration method, together with lunar missions by NASA’s Artemis program. Credit score: NASA
Crew-3 constructed on earlier work investigating how fibers develop in microgravity, used hydroponic and aeroponic strategies to develop vegetation with out soil or different progress materials, captured imagery of their retinas as a part of an investigation that would detect eye adjustments of astronauts in house robotically sooner or later, and carried out an illustration of know-how that offers measurements of organic indicators associated to illness and an infection, amongst many different scientific investigations. The astronauts took lots of of pictures of Earth as a part of the Crew Earth Commentary investigation, one of many longest-running investigations aboard the house station, which helps monitor pure disasters and adjustments to our house planet.
Endurance will return to Florida for inspection and processing at SpaceX’s Dragon Lair, the place groups will study the spacecraft’s information and efficiency all through the flight.
The Crew-3 flight is a part of NASA’s Industrial Crew Program and its return to Earth follows on the heels of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 launch, which docked to the station April 27, starting one other science expedition.
The purpose of NASA’s Industrial Crew Program is protected, dependable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the Worldwide Area Station. This already has offered extra analysis time and has elevated the chance for discovery aboard humanity’s microgravity testbed for exploration, together with serving to NASA put together for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
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