How do returning astronauts usually land

Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs. Meet the people trying to help. Animals Whales eat three times more than previously thought. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment As the EU targets emissions cuts, this country has a coal problem. Paid Content How Hong Kong protects its sea sanctuaries. History Magazine These 3,year-old giants watched over the cemeteries of Sardinia.

Magazine How one image captures 21 hours of a volcanic eruption. Science Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. Science The controversial sale of 'Big John,' the world's largest Triceratops. Science Coronavirus Coverage How antivirals may change the course of the pandemic. Science Coronavirus Coverage U. Travel A road trip in Burgundy reveals far more than fine wine.

This is just one more that we'll encounter and take care of in our mission, so we're not too worried about it. The goal of NASA and SpaceX's partnership for their jointly operated ISS missions is to keep the year-old space station fully staffed, making maximum use of the orbiting laboratory while it's in operation.

Keeping enough staff onboard was a constant pressure for NASA during the nearly 10 years that the United States did not have a spacecraft capable of getting astronauts to orbit. After the space agency's Space Shuttle program retired, it had to rely on its partnership with Russia and the country's Soyuz spacecraft for getting NASA astronauts to the space station. The next SpaceX astronaut launch, called Crew-3, was delayed — first by weather issues and then by a "minor medical issue" with one of the astronauts.

NASA said last week that it's expecting that medical issue to clear before takeoff, which could happen as soon as Wednesday. NASA is also hoping to bring another launch provider on board: Boeing was contracted alongside SpaceX to develop its own crew-worthy spacecraft, but Boeing has been beleaguered by numerous testing and development hangups. At this point, its spacecraft, called Starliner, is years overdue and was most recently taken off the launch pad after issues with its propulsion system were discovered shortly before a scheduled test flight of the vehicle.

Error message Sorry, there was a problem. Please ensure your details are valid and try again. Steven F. Get involved.

A pair of astronauts aboard the International Space Station studied advanced piloting controls using virtual reality today. In the meantime, four Expedition 66 crewmates are turning their attention to returning to Earth this month.

An experiment sponsored by ESA European Space Agency is using virtual reality in the space environment to help engineers optimize workstations and interfaces for controlling future space robots and spacecraft. She worked in the Columbus laboratory module wearing the VR goggles using a haptic controller to pilot and capture simulated spacecraft in a video game-like environment.

Kimbrough worked in the in the U. Destiny laboratory module servicing thermal gear as Hoshide checked out lights and orbital plumbing systems in the Kibo laboratory module. The quartet have been packing Endeavour with personal items and station hardware, as well as training on a computer for the ride back home. He also checked U. Shkaplerov continued cargo transfers inside the ISS Progress 79 resupply ship then photographed the Photobioreactor hybrid life support system experiment for inspection.

Dubrov explored ways to maintain safe, sterile conditions when conducting microgravity biology research for the Aseptic study. Four International Space Station astronauts continue packing their U. Meanwhile, the Expedition 66 crew continued its ongoing space research and maintenance aboard the orbital lab. The duo may undock for the ride back to Earth as early as Sunday, Nov. Kimbrough also spent the day uninstalling incubator components before inspecting portable emergency gear.

McArthur photographed a variety of space station tools for a survey. Hoshide replaced air filters as Pesquet organized cables and checked camera sensors.