NASA astronaut Mike Fincke handed over command of the International Space Station to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov at 2:35 p.m. EST today. The traditional Change of Command Ceremony precedes the targeted departure of Fincke with Zena Cardman of NASA, Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission is targeted undock from the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 5:05 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Crew-11 will then complete a parachute-assisted lamnding inside Dragon to a splashdown off the coast of California less than 12 hours later at about 3:40 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15. NASA and SpaceX support personnel will retrieve Dragon and the crew from the Pacific Ocean and return them to California before the crewmates fly back to their home agencies.
Fincke, with assistance from his three homebound crewmates, packed gear and personal items inside Dragon throughout Monday. At the end of Monday’s shift, the foursome retrieved computer tablets from inside Dragon and reviewed the steps they will use while departing the station and reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
The three crew members remaining aboard the orbital outpost, Kud-Sverchkov with Chris Williams of NASA and Sergey Mikaev of Roscosmos will await the arrival of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 members Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, both from NASA, Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency), and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos. Crew-12 is due to launch to the space station in February and join Expedition 74 for a nine-month-long space research mission.
There was still time for science on Monday as Cardman scanned Williams’ arteries with the Ultrasound 2 device and collected his blood pressure measurements. Next, Williams assisted Cardman as she peered into medical imaging gear to help doctors assess the condition of her retina, cornea, and lens in microgravity. Afterward, Williams worked with Yui and treated microbe samples in the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox, exploring the use of ultraviolet light to disinfect spacecraft surfaces.
Cosmonauts Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev focused on maintenance Monday servicing electronic and ventilation systems then inventorying hardware throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment. Platonov assisted the duo amid his departure preparations.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.