Astronauts of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission, consisting of crew members from the agency as well as ESA (European Space Agency), will answer questions about their recent mission aboard the International Space Station during a news conference at 10 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 20.
The event will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Watch online at:
NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, as well as ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, will participate in this first media event following their return to Earth. The Crew-4 astronauts also will participate in a Twitter question-and-answer session on the NASA Johnson Twitter account at 11:10 a.m., following the news conference.
Reporters who wish to participate must RSVP to the newsroom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston at: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov or 281-483-5111 no later than 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, to receive dial-in information. To ask questions, reporters must dial into the news conference no later than 9:50 a.m. Those following the briefing on social media may ask questions using #AskNASA.
Hines, Lindgren, Watkins, and Cristoforetti returned to Earth in a parachute-assisted splashdown in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft Freedom at 4:55 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, off the coast of Florida. After returning to shore, the astronauts flew back to Houston, where they were greeted by their families and colleagues.
Crew-4 astronauts traveled 72,168,935 miles during their 170 days aboard the space station. They completed 2,720 orbits around Earth.
During their science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory, the Crew-4 astronauts continued work on investigations documenting how improvements to the space diet affect immune function and the gut microbiome, determining the effect of fuel temperature on the flammability of a material, exploring possible adverse effects on astronaut hearing from equipment noise and microgravity, and studying whether additives increase or decrease the stability of emulsions. The astronauts also investigated microgravity-induced changes in the human immune system similar to aging, tested a novel water-reclamation membrane, and examined a concrete alternative made with a material found in lunar and Martian dust.
The Crew-4 flight was part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and its return to Earth followed on the heels of the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission, which docked to the station Oct. 6 to begin another science expedition.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
