1. Change of command
Alexander Gerst has officially become the commander of the international space station. During this weeks excitement up on board the space station Drew Feustel handed over the command of the station to the ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst
Germany was full of celebration on October 3rd for Gerst's big day because he is only the 11th German to go to space and is the first commander to ever come from Germany. ESA has had one other astronaut become commander on board so this was a big day all around. To make this day even more special for all Germany the ceremony happened on October 3rd, German Unity Day.
2. The end... For now
With the change of command comes the change of expeditions. The station is now transitioning from expedition 56 to expedition 57 and the crew who launched with expedition 55 in February 2018 have now completed their 6 month mission.
With the close of their mission each astronaut posted their final posts on board the space station. The astronauts are having a mix of emotions with being sad to leave such a unique place but excited to see their friends and families.
3. houston we are coming home
As with each launch NASA has live reports of each part of the expedition home. In case you missed it (it was at 3 am central time, we all missed it) here is the highlights of the return of expedition 56.
Watch the launch of the next crew on Thursday October 11th live on NASA TV or on the ISS facebook page. There will be nearly 12 hours of coverage starting at 3:30 am (eastern time) including prelaunch activities all the way to the welcome ceremony upon the ISS. Check out the full schedule of events.
4. Work it!
Each week on board the space station Alexander Gerst (and his team on the ground) put together a video and post it to youtube. They can be anything from educational to fun, but always informative in some way. This week he talked about how astronauts exercise in space.
5. New astronaut Theme song
Music in space is no longer a new thing, most astronauts on board need to find a way to combat the homesickness and music is one of the things that helps create an environment that feels like home. Many astronauts have brought instruments to space and Commander Feustel (expedition 56) is just another one on the list.
Before his departure of the ISS he left us with this gem of a music video he created over his 6 months on the ISS. Take a listen to the newest out of this world music from the International Space Station.
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1. The art of Earth
Everyday the ISS see's 16 sunrises and sunsets, during their time orbiting earth they have the opportunity to take incredible photos most of us could only dream of. This week Alexander Gerst, Oleg Artemyev, and Ricky Arnold admire the beauty of mother nature and the art she creates.
2. Hobbies in space
Commander Feustel continues posting photos of formula one race tracks across the globe. Each Astronaut has their own hobbies besides being really cool astronauts, Feustel loves to support his favorite F1 teams.
The crew also spends some quality time together having a movie and music night. I'm sure there is a really short list of Musicians in space and Commander Feustel and Sergey Prokopyev are on that list! â
3. Supplies
JAXA the Japanese space agency sent supplies to the international space station. Supplies include everything from food and living essentials to new equipment for experiments and supplies to improve life on the station. Some supplies on the ship include new lithium batteries to replace 4 of the 6 on the outside of the ship, Alexander Gerst will be installing them.
ESA also sent along the new life support system that will help filter carbon dioxide into oxygen on the station. This system being installed on the station can lead to further studies for systems used for long term journeys such as to mars. â
4. We're going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship
Expedition 56 is coming to a close and the crew that arrived during expedition 55 are heading back down to earth soon. Before the crew can undock from the space station Commander Feustel will hand over the command of the station to Alexander Gerst.
The crew will begin the undocking process from the space station on October 4th at 12:55 Eastern Time. The crew will undock their Soyuz from the ISS and make the two day trip back down to earth. The Soyuz will be commanded by Oleg for the journey. After landing the crew will begin the process of reacclimatizing to earth once again.
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The change of command ceremony can be watched live: October 3rd 8:45am Eastern Time.
The undocking can be watched live: October 4th 12:30a.m, Eastern Time.
Check out NASA's Full list of live events and streaming for the upcoming departure and journey to the international space station with the 56/57 crew.
5. Beyond new Horizons
The European Space Agency announced their next mission to the international space station, Luca Parmitano will become the 3rd ESA astronaut to command the space station and the first Italian commander. Frank De Winne from Belgium was the first ESA astronaut to command the station, Alexander Gerst from Germany will become the second on October 3rd and now Luca Parmitano from Italy will become the 3rd during expedition 61 next year, each the first of their country to command the station. Each ESA mission from Thomas Pesquet's Proxima to Alexander Gerst's Horizons, brings us one step closer to discovering what happens beyond earth and the moon.
With this new design being released it makes me think of my personal experience working with Alexander Gerst and his team on his mission patch and the meaning behind it. Each patch means so much to each of the astronauts it signifies everything they are doing while on the station. The patch visually represents everything the mission stands for and it's difficult to encompass all in one. The beyond patch, like the horizons patch has so much meaning behind it and I think overall it was done well.
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