This Saturday: The Launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9

In this week’s newsletter, prepare for the launch of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission; take a look at the inaugural project of the agency’s reimagined art program; and meet the all-volunteer crew that just "returned" from a simulated trip to Mars after being isolated in a tiny habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Plus, more stories you might have missed.

HUMANS IN SPACE

Launching! NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9

This Saturday, Sept. 28, at 1:17 p.m. EDT, the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission is targeted to launch from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This is the first human spaceflight mission to launch from that pad.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will carry NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the orbiting laboratory for a five-month science mission. This is the ninth crew rotation mission and the 10th human spaceflight mission for NASA to the space station supported by Dragon since 2020 as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

Live coverage of the launch, post-launch news conference, and docking will stream on NASA+.

MISSION COVERAGE

NASA'S SPACEX CREW-9

Mission Updates

The official blog for NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission will keep you up-to-date on the launch, arrival, docking, and beyond.

NASA'S SPACEX CREW-9

Mission Overview

Once aboard the space station, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will become members of the Expedition 72 crew and perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities.

WHAT TO KNOW

NASA'S SPACEX CREW-9

NASA Astronaut Nick Hague

Nick Hague was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013 and most recently served as a flight engineer on the International Space Station for Expedition 59 and 60. Hague is currently training for his second spaceflight, where he will serve as commander for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

BIOGRAPHY

NASA'S SPACEX CREW-9

Mission images

View and download imagery from NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission from the agency's official Flickr album.

VIEW

More NASA News

NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson completed a six-month research mission aboard the International Space Station on Monday, Sept. 23, returning to Earth with Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub.

The reimagined NASA Art Program has launched with two new space-themed murals in New York’s Hudson Square neighborhood in Manhattan. As the program evolves, the agency remains focused on inspiring and engaging the next generation of explorers – the Artemis Generation – in new and unexpected ways, including through art.

Earlier this week, NASA’s HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) crew “returned” to Earth after a simulated trip to Mars. The HERA missions provide valuable scientific insights into how humans may respond to the confinement, demanding work-life conditions, and remote environments that astronauts may encounter on deep space missions.

In May 2024, a geomagnetic storm hit Earth, sending auroras across the planet’s skies. These dazzling sights are possible because of the interaction of coronal mass ejections—explosions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun—with Earth’s magnetic field, which protects us from the radiation the Sun spits out during turbulent storms. But what might happen to humans beyond the safety of Earth’s protection?

Arctic sea ice retreated to near-historic lows in the Northern Hemisphere this summer, likely melting to its minimum extent for the year on Sept. 11, 2024, according to NASA researchers. The decline continues the decades-long trend of shrinking and thinning ice cover in the Arctic Ocean.

Do You Know?

Born in Costa Rica, Franklin Chang-Díaz was the first Hispanic American astronaut chosen by NASA, joining the astronaut corps in 1980. He continued working for NASA for 25 years, retiring in 2005. Chang-Díaz currently shares the record for flying on the most orbital launches from Earth, logging seven Space Shuttle missions.

Who does he share this title with?

A. Frederick W. Sturckow

B. John W. Young

C. Jerry L. Ross

D. Michael López-Alegría

Find out the answer in next week's edition of the NASA newsletter 🤓

Last week we asked what research chemical engineer Olga Gonzalez-Sanabria performed in the 1980s. The answer? Battery technologies! As part of Glenn Research Center's Energy Storage Branch in the mid-1980s, González-Sanabria analyzed advanced nickel-hydrogen battery designs and advances. She also collaborated with Patricia O’Donnell and Robert Cataldo to study various battery and fuel cell options for radioisotope thermoelectric generators to power potential Mars rovers.

Hispanic Heritage Month

Para celebrar el Mes de la Herencia Hispana, la NASA publica nuevos contenidos para Universo curioso de la NASA, el primer pódcast en español de la agencia, que inicia ahora su segunda temporada.

ESCUCHA EL PÓDCAST

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