ISS nine-member crew field questions from international media
On Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015, the now nine-member crew of the International Space Station (ISS) answered questions fielded by the international media during a joint crew press conference. Journalists at press centers in the U.S., Russia, Japan, and Germany were able to communicate with the crew via Johnson Space Center’s mission control center.
The nine crew members of Expedition 45, currently on the ISS, represent five different space agencies:
- NASA astronauts Scott Kelly – one-year crew member and the station’s new (Expedition 45) commander – and Kjell Lindgren (Expedition 44/45 flight engineer).
- Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) cosmonauts Gennady Padalka (Expedition 44 commander), Mikhail Kornienko (one-year crew member), Oleg Kononenko (Expedition 44/45 Flight Engineer), and Sergey Volkov (Expedition 45/46 flight engineer).
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui (Expedition 44/45 flight engineer).
- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen (visiting crew member).
- Kazakh Space Agency (Kazcosmos) cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov (visiting crew member).
They answered a range of questions regarding the day-to-day life on the station, as well as questions that broke from the routine – such as the one regarding a recent chat between Scott Kelly, Kjell Lindgren, and actor Matt Damon who was touring the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California.
Scott Kelly, who recently took command of the ISS, had this to say about the sense of community aboard the space station: “I think, one of the things we’ve established up here culturally is a level of respect, and admiration, and cooperation, and understanding for our different countries and different cultures, and that’s something that’s made this Space Station program such a great thing and a great success.”
Kamiya Yui of JAXA, speaking on the same theme, said: “ISS is so great [that] we have people from so many countries and these people cooperate towards the same goal, and this cooperation system is so great and that’s what I want the people to see.”
Padalka, Mogensen, and Aimbetov will return to Earth in Soyuz TMA-16M this Friday, Sept. 11. Volkov, along with one-year mission crew members Kelly and Kornienko, will return in March 2016 aboard Soyuz TMA-18M.
Video Courtesy of NASA
Jose Flores
College student and long time space enthusiast, Jose has been a constant visitor to Cape Canaveral since he moved to central Florida. He joined the SFI team in the hopes of becoming more involved in the coverage of spaceflight and space exploration.
