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The crew of Expedition 61 of the International Space Station moored at the ISS on Wednesday, September 25, after six hours of flight. The exciting journey began around 2:57 am (9:47 am Eastern) with the take-off of the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch marked a historic moment for spaceflight, as the first United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut reached the ISS. Astronaut Hazzaa Ali Almansoori was accompanied by colleagues Jessica Meir from NASA and Oleg Skripochka from the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos.
The three astronauts flew aboard the ISS aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which will remain on board the ISS for eight days.
The Soyuz MS-12 capsule was moored at the ISS at about 20:42 (Paris time) (15:42 EDT).
The docking maneuvers have been broadcast to the world since the ISS, from 402 km (250 miles) in space.
The 61 expedition joined the six astronauts already aboard the ISS, representing shipments 59 and 60.
WATCH LIVE: International Space Station live here
Together, the nine astronauts represent the largest crew of the ISS to have gravitated the planet at the same time since 2015.
Almansoori will spend only eight days on the space station and is expected to return to Earth on October 3.
The astronaut will fly aboard the Soyuz MS-12 in the company of American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin.
Both men have already completed more than 200 days in space.
SEE HERE: The striking images of the Earth from the space resemble abstract paintings
Ms. Meir and Mr. Skripochka will spend six months in total on the ISS.
The remaining astronauts on the space station are Christina Koch of NASA and Andrew Morgan, Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Alexander Skvortsov of Russia.
NASA said, "The Expedition 61 team will spend more than six months conducting about 250 scientific investigations in areas such as biology, earth sciences, human research, physical sciences, and technological development. .
"Work on the unique Microgravity Lab advances scientific knowledge and demonstrates new technologies, with breakthroughs in research that will enable long-term human and robotic exploration of the Moon and Mars."
The 61 expedition is also responsible for installing new batteries on the solar panels of the space station.
SEE HERE: NASA shares an unobstructed view of the Earth from space
Astronauts will also leave the ISS to upgrade and repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiments.
The external instrument studies the cosmos in search of dark matter.
NASA said: "Another highlight of the upcoming surveys that the crew will facilitate on the orbiting lab is the AstroRad Vest.
The vest will use the International Space Station as a platform to test the new garment used to protect astronauts from exposure to increased radiation as they prepare to travel farther into deep space towards the Moon and later on Mars. "
Quick Facts About the International Space Station (ISS):
1. The span of the Solar Panel of the Space Station is 240 feet or the equivalent of the Airbus A380
2. The ISS has approximately 350,000 sensors monitoring crew health.
The large modules of the ISS have been put into orbit on a total of 42 flights – 37 launches of the US Space Shuttle and five Russian launches.
4. A space ship launched from Earth can arrive at the Space Station in less than six hours.
5. In total, six spacecraft can dock simultaneously with the ISS.
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