Station Prepares to Welcome Crew-13 while Continuing Space Research

On Wednesday, Expedition 75 crew members aboard the International Space Station focused on preparing for the arrival of NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission. Scheduled to launch and dock on Thursday, October 1, Crew-13 will consist of NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, along with mission specialists Joshua Kutryk from the Canadian Space Agency and Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos. The crew will be transported to the orbiting laboratory aboard a Dragon spacecraft launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

Meanwhile, the existing Expedition 75 crew continued their research and maintenance duties. Station commander Jessica Meir rearranged cargo inside the Harmony module, making space for Crew-13's entry. Flight engineers Anil Menon and Jack Hathaway staged necessary supplies in Harmony to support the newcomers upon arrival. ESA flight engineer Sophie Adenot, meanwhile, devoted her efforts to various scientific experiments, including testing the effectiveness of the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D) and simulating lunar landing techniques.

Roscosmos flight engineers Anna Kikina and Pyotr Dubrov also participated in various maintenance tasks, such as testing a lower body negative pressure suit designed to help astronauts adjust to Earth's gravity post-mission, and measuring blood pressure to understand the effects of microgravity on the microcirculatory system. Following these activities, Kikina unloaded cargo delivered on the Progress 96 cargo spacecraft, while Dubrov worked on life support and computer systems maintenance.