NASA's Crew-10 docks at Space Station, Sunita Williams closer to homecoming

India Today

NASA's Crew 10 has successfully docked at the International Space Station. The four-member crew will replace the current inhabitants, including Sunita Williams, who will return to Earth after an extended stay.

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00:00Breaking news that's coming in NASA's crew 10 has now docked at the International Space Station

00:04The crew 10 is docking with ISS is successful

00:08Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are now closer to homecoming SpaceX Dragon has now docked

00:13Autonomously my colleague Shibu is joining me live on the broadcast for more on this Shibu

00:19We are learning that the crew 10 has successfully docked with the International Space Station. What happens next?

00:24Good morning Chetna, the crew 10 has now successfully docked. What happens next is that the crew will transfer into the space station

00:35so they'll exit the Dragon spacecraft through the

00:38The vestibule and enter into the space station

00:41post that a week-long

00:43Transfer of science research handover will take place during which

00:47Commander Sunita Williams who was the commander of the space station will hand over all the science research

00:52The experiments that were done the studies that are being conducted to the new group before undocking from the space station

00:59Right Shibu for some background. Could you tell us who the crew 10 members are and what would their stay at ISS entail?

01:05They're going to be staying there for six months. Could you speak to us a little bit about that?

01:10So the crew 10 members include four astronauts

01:13These are two NASA astronauts a Japanese Space Agency astronaut and a Russian Roscosmos astronaut

01:20So the crew 10 will now live on the space station for a period of six months

01:24So we have to know that the the the crew missions are basically rotational missions

01:29They go on a duration of six months during which they stay in the space station. They work on the space station do multiple science

01:36research

01:37Studies and also spacewalks. We have to see that Sunita Williams conducted two spacewalks during her extended

01:43Stay in space. So the four astronauts will now replace four astronauts living in the space station

01:49Which is crew 9. The crew 9 includes NASA astronauts, Russian astronauts

01:54Who will now undock from the space station or sometime around March 19th or after March 19th to return to earth

02:01Right Shibu, you know could could you speak to us a little bit about if this whatever has happened in their extended stay

02:07This could help you know prepare NASA for future missions not just to prevent astronauts from being stranded

02:12But in case that happens to maybe mitigate the effects of microgravity on the body

02:17What the changes that we saw Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore and the other astronauts experiencing?

02:23Definitely NASA has been studying the effect of long duration space travel

02:28We know that NASA is working on the Artemis mission

02:30Which is to build a colony and have a sustained presence on the moon. This will be followed by missions to Mars

02:37So these will be long duration space travel which will include months and months of space flight then so

02:43Sunita Williams was extended stay was definitely an opportunity for NASA to study how extended space travel

02:50Basically affects your body what we know so far is that

02:54Long duration space travel has huge impact on the bone density your bones become weaker

03:00They are very susceptible to fractures and apart from that your cardiovascular system also takes a toll

03:07Beyond that we know that the blood flow is impacted into the body

03:11So NASA has a set of regimen exercises that it prescribes to the astronauts, which is followed rigorously by the team

03:19They have special equipment

03:21They have special diet to ensure that the astronauts are fit and healthy and we have to say that they have maintained that with

03:27The two astronauts who are extended stay has been extended in the space. So definitely it was a big opportunity

03:34Then I should also tell the viewers that this is not the first time that NASA has done these long duration studies

03:41Years back they did a one year long study on an astronaut who launched from Earth and stayed in space for a duration of

03:49365 days just to study the effect of long duration on the body

03:54But they studied him before flight during the flight during his stay in space station and once he returned

04:01So what were the changes that his body has been went through?

04:03So they have been doing these kind of studies for a very long period of time

04:06We also need to understand that India is also planning to launch the Gaganyaan mission

04:11Which will have three astronauts going into space for a period of close to a week. So this will also

04:18provide information to other space agencies as well

04:21Absolutely Shibu also for our viewers

04:24It's not just the effects on the astronauts health while they're in space

04:29But help our viewers understand what challenges they will face once they're back to Earth, you know

04:34Because they'll have to now acclimatize to Earth's gravity, Earth's weather conditions. So what would that entail?

04:41As we know Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore have been in space for close to nine months now

04:47That's nine months of living with no gravity. They are weightless

04:50They are floating in space station once they land on earth the biggest challenge will be feeling the impact of gravity

04:57Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore have repeatedly said that this is going to be a day-by-day

05:02Recovery process that they'll go through in terms of getting familiar with gravity and getting back on their feet again

05:10even to the extent of

05:12Butch Willmore going on to say that even lifting a pencil will be like a workout once they land on the planet

05:17But NASA has developed that kind of regimen to bring them back on their feet as soon as possible

05:22What we can say that this will take about a few weeks to a month and then the astronauts will be fully recovered and back

05:28on their feet. But yes, it will be a major challenge to finally

05:33Feel the gravity of the planet which will be a punishing effort to assure

05:37Right Shibu. Thank you for bringing us those details on that story

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