SpaceX launches Crew-7 mission

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Space technology

Context: SpaceX launched four people to the International Space Station from Florida

More about the news:

NASA and SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft have blasted off carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
Known as Crew-7, the mission includes four astronauts from four countries – the US, Denmark, Japan, and Russia.
This was the first US take-off in which all the astronauts atop the spacecraft belonged to a different country. Until now, NASA had always included two or three of its own on its SpaceX flights.

More details about the mission:

The Crew-7 is the eighth flight operated by NASA and SpaceX as part of the agency’s commercial crew program, which has been taking astronauts to the ISS since SpaceX’s first crewed mission in 2020.
During their stay at the space station, the Crew-7 astronauts will conduct more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations to prepare for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
The research will include a collection of microbial samples from the exterior of the space station.
The team will also analyse how sleeping in the microgravity environment differs from Earth by examining astronauts’ brain waves while they sleep.
Another experiment will look at the formation of biofilms in wastewater on the space station, which could be key to finding better ways to recycle water for drinking and hygiene while in space.

What is International Space Station (ISS):

The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in Low Earth Orbit approximately 250 miles above Earth.
The first piece of the International Space Station was launched in 1998,and was completed in 2011.
The major partners of ISS include NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
ISS travels at 17,500 mph that means it orbits Earth every 90 minutes.
The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements.
The station is divided into two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the United States Orbital Segment (USOS), which is shared by many nations.
ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz, and Mir stations as well as Skylab from the US.