NASA's Expedition 68 crew set to come back to Earth from ISS; catch the action live

NASA’s Expedition 68 crew members are coming back to Earth! The space agency revealed that four Expedition 68 crew members will return back to Earth next month. On the other hand, Roscosmos and SpaceX are also preparing to launch their respective crafts to the International Space Station. In a blog post, the space agency revealed that NASA Flight Engineers Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada are reviewing their upcoming departure procedures ahead of next month’s return journey to Earth inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance.

The quartet launched to the ISS on the SpaceX Crew-5 mission on October 5, 2022. Their replacement will join the Crew-6 mission on Monday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “They will be flanked inside the vehicle by astronaut Sultan Alneyadi of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos,” NASA said in the blog post.

When and where to watch NASA’s Expedition 68 crew replacement

You will be able to catch the live of Crew-6 mission on NASA TV, the agency’s app as well as on the website. The live Crew-6 launch broadcast will be on Sunday at 9 PM. “Once the launch broadcast is over, live mission audio will stream until NASA TV resumes with its docking coverage set to begin at 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday,” NASA said.

Meanwhile, a passengerless Soyuz MS-23 crew ship lifted off on Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a two-day visit to the space station. Moreover, the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft will also make a return journey for the NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin back to Earth later in 2023.

About Expedition 68 mission

Expedition 68 began in September 2022 and ends in March 2023. This expedition included research investigations primarily focused on biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences and technology development, providing the foundation for continuing human spaceflight beyond low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars.