CREW-7 MISSION
WHY IN NEWS ?
- Recently four astronauts from four countries, including the US, Denmark, Japan, and Russia, launched aboard a SpaceX rocket towards the International Space Station (ISS).
MORE ABOUT THE NEWS :
- This was the first US take-off in which all the astronauts atop the spacecraft belonged to a different country .
- Until now, NASA had always included two or three of its own on its SpaceX flights.
- Known as Crew-7, the mission includes NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov.
- They are expected to reach the ISS on Sunday, replacing four astronauts living up there since March.
- The fresh batch of astronauts will stay at the ISS for the next six months and will conduct a host of different experiments.
ABOUT CREW-7 MISSION:
- The Crew-7 is the eighth flight operated by NASA and Elon Musk-owned SpaceX as part of the agency’s commercial crew program, which has been taking astronauts to the ISS since SpaceX’s first crewed mission in 2020.
- The primary objective of this mission is to maintain the continuous human presence aboard the ISS.
- Each astronaut contributes their unique skills and expertise to ensure the station’s functionality, conduct experiments, and further scientific research.
- During their stay at the space station, the Crew-7 astronauts will conduct more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations to prepare for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
- The research will include a collection of microbial samples from the exterior of the space station.
- The team will also analyse how sleeping in the microgravity environment differs from Earth by examining astronauts’ brain waves while they sleep.
- Yet another experiment will look at the formation of biofilms in wastewater on the space station, which could be key to finding better ways to recycle water for drinking and hygiene while in space.
SYLLABUS: PRELIMS, CURRENT AFFAIRS
