NASA, the United States space agency, has sent four astronauts to space to study how the harsh, gravity-free environment of space affects the human body. The crew reached the International Space Station (ISS) safely on Thursday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, owned by Elon Musk, launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

According to NASA, the astronauts will research how the zero-gravity environment of space affects blood circulation and the blood clotting process in the human body. They will also gather the health data needed to prepare for future long-duration space missions. The mission was launched about three weeks later than originally scheduled because of a fault in the fuel system of the Crew Dragon capsule carrying the astronauts.

The new crew will replace four astronauts who have been stationed aboard the space station since last February. The mission is led by Jessica Watkins, a United States astronaut and geologist, along with Luke Delaney of the United States, Joshua Kutryk of Canada and Sergei Teteriatnikov of Russia.

NASA manager Dana Weigel said the four astronauts will conduct six months of research in space. The mission has been named and its patch designed in memory of Apollo 13, the lunar mission of 1970. The International Space Station, which has been in operation for more than two decades, is expected to remain usable until 2030.

Source: The Times of India