SpaceX pod that will rescue Sunita Williams from space has safely reached ISS

SpaceX Crew Dragon has safely reached the International Space Station. The Crew-9, that includes NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will remain there for 5 months conducting scientific experiments. They will bring back stranded NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore in February 2025.

After their arrival, Williams welcomed the crew onboard. The crew-9 members were seen floating in the air and hugging the Expedition 72 crew members at the space station. Williams said, “On behalf of Expedition 72, I’d like to welcome our new teammates from Dragon Freedom. Alex, welcome to the International Space Station, and Nick, welcome back home to the station.”

Hague stated, “Alex and I had a smooth ride up here, so first off, a big thank you to the teams that prepared us for the journey on Freedom. It was an incredible ride. Coming through the hatch, seeing all the smiles—I've laughed and cried in the last 10 minutes—I know this is going to be an amazing expedition. I’m really excited to get to work."

The official welcome!

The Expedition 72 crew welcomed #Crew9, @NASAAstronauts Nick Hague, the Crew 9 commander and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, the crew 9 mission specialist, after their flight aboard the @SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. pic.twitter.com/pOa8sTQWDo

— NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) September 29, 2024

Hague and Gorbunov were welcomed by the space station’s Expedition 72 crew, including NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, and Sunita Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner.

The two astronauts will be at the space station for five months during which they will perform more than 200 scientific investigations involving blood clotting studies, moisture effects on plants grown in space, and vision changes in astronauts.  

These studies will help researchers determine how environmental conditions affect platelets and megakaryocytes, which are large cells found in bone marrow. Both play crucial roles in blood clotting and immune response, and the findings may offer insights for humans both in space and on Earth.

Additionally, the crew will also investigate the vision changes astronauts often experience while in orbit, examining whether a daily vitamin B supplement can make a difference. Although it’s still unclear why some astronauts face vision changes while others don’t, this has been a focus of research for years. NASA further revealed that the two astronauts will participate in a spacewalk to repair a telescope attached to the outside of the space station.