{
  "id": 10486796,
  "title": "What You Need to Know About NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 Mission",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/what-you-need-to-know-about-nasas-spacex-crew-13-mission",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-28T16:09:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "NASA",
    "slug": "nasa",
    "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/commercial-crew/what-you-need-to-know-about-nasas-spacex-crew-13-mission/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Four astronauts, including two NASA astronauts and two representatives from Roscosmos and the Canadian Space Agency, are scheduled to launch aboard SpaceX's Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station. The mission, set to launch no earlier than October 1, aims to conduct research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance tasks aboard the orbiting laboratory.\n\nNASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, along with CSA astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, will make up the crew. Watkins and Delaney will serve as the spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively. This will be Watkins' second mission to the space station, following her 170-day stay aboard the ISS during Expedition 67/68 in 2022. Watkins, a geologist by training, previously worked on the Curiosity rover science team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.\n\nThe crew will focus on advancing research and technology for future Moon and Mars missions, as well as improving life on Earth. They will study human stem-cell derived tissues to improve medicine, disease modeling, and pharmaceutical testing. Additionally, they will explore crop production for longer-duration spaceflight missions, investigate blood flow abnormalities in space, and test new diagnostic medical equipment for monitoring crew health.\n\nThe launch is the 13th crew rotation mission with SpaceX for NASA's Commercial Crew Office. Ground teams are working on Dragon preflight milestones and preparing a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster for its third flight. Once all systems are certified, the integrated spacecraft and rocket will undergo a dry dress rehearsal and a static fire test before launch. The crew will fly aboard the Dragon spacecraft named Grace, which previously supported the private astronaut mission Axiom Mission 4.",
  "summary": "Four crew members are set to launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission to perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the orbiting laboratory.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "NASA Science",
        "title": "What You Need to Know About NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 Mission",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/what-you-need-to-know-about-nasas-spacex-crew-13-mission-10493933",
        "published": "2026-09-28T16:09:09.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}