A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday, carrying four crew members to the International Space Station for a science mission centred on human health and performance in orbit.
The crew comprises two American astronauts, one Canadian astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut, travelling aboard an autonomously operated Crew Dragon capsule. They will be received by the ISS’s seven current occupants, among them the four-person Crew-12 team, who are set to return to Earth shortly after a mission of more than seven months.
The arriving crew’s research agenda covers biomedical and human-performance studies, with a particular focus on how microgravity affects blood circulation and clotting. The data collected is intended to inform the planning and safety protocols of future long-duration space missions.
