Robi Maddison Science 04.15.2022 22:Apr PM EDT

SpaceX's Crew-4 Mission Cleared for Launch on April 23; Crew-3 Astronauts Excited to Return Home

SpaceX's Crew-4 astronaut mission to the International Space Station was given the green light to launch on April 23.

After living and working in space since November 2021, NASA's SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts are nearing the end of their mission and are said to return to Earth this month.

SpaceX's Crew-4 Mission Cleared for Launch on April 23

After conducting a seven-hour flight readiness review for Crew-4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Friday, April 15, Crew-4 is still on track to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from KSC's Pad 39A at 5:26 a.m EDT (0926 GTM) on April 23 after NASA and SpaceX teams found no big or worrisome issues, as per the report of Space.com.

NASA Human Spaceflight Chief Kathy Lueders said that only a few small issues were detected by the teams, which should be rectified within the next 24 to 36 hours.

NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, as well as Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency, will be sent to the International Space Station for a long stay.

Crew-3 Astronauts to Return Home in April

Space.com also reported that SpaceX's Crew-3 mission, which has been living on the station since November 2021, are nearing the end of their mission aboard the International Space Station and is preparing to return to Earth.

On November 10, NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, as well as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer, launched with the SpaceX Crew-3 mission.

The crew will return to Earth later this month once SpaceX's Crew-4 arrives and the station is handed over to the newcomers. Crew-3's return date to Earth is yet to be determined, as Crew-4's launch has been postponed to April 23.

In a news conference on Friday, the crew said they have had an amazing mission but are excited to come home.

The crew also revealed some of their work while on board. Maurer mentioned the importance of station research on the understanding of climate change, including a recent experiment aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the process of manufacturing concrete.

The crew, with the exception of Marshburn, was made up of rookie flyers who were making their first trip to the station. They expressed their desire to return to space, albeit they stated that they would do things differently the next time.

Living in microgravity, according to Barron, required numerous minor adjustments, and he hopes that the crew will be more prepared for some of those hurdles next time.

Chari said the crew failed to meet the scientists whose research the astronauts performed in orbit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which he intends to do on future missions.

While the crew has had a lot of work to accomplish over the past several months working through Expeditions 66 and 67, Marshburn said that three spacewalks, robotic operations, many visiting vehicles, and the private astronaut mission trip provided enough entertainment for the crew.

According to Space.com, Marshburn is referring to Ax-1, Axiom Space's first crewed expedition and the first exclusively private crewed mission ever dispatched to the station. Ax-1 launched on April 8 aboard a SpaceX Dragon atop a Falcon 9 rocket.