A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Brazil’s first astronaut and two new members of the International Space Station (ISS) docked with the space complex this past Saturday, two days after its launch.
On board was Brazilian test pilot Marcos Pontes, 43, along with new ISS crew members: Russian commander Pavel Vinogradov and U.S. Army Colonel Jeffrey Williams.
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Astronauts meet at the International Space Station. (Photo: AP) |
Pontes will conduct a scientific program for his country’s space agency before returning to Earth on April 9 with the old ISS crew, which includes Russian Valery Tokarev and NASA specialist William McArthur.
Vinogradov and Williams have completed a six-month mission, which included a rigorous scientific agenda featuring up to 40 experiments.
The new crew has added a “zoo corner” to the station—a small number of worms that will be used for experiments on biological regeneration in a weightless environment. The ISS is also home to a group of snails, which are being studied for their behavior in microgravity conditions.
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