Expedition 64 trio preps for return to Earth this Friday; NASA to provide live coverage

The Expedition 64 crew members arrived on the space station aboard the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft on October 14, 2020. The crew reviewed the g-forces that occur when entering Earth’s atmosphere and experiencing gravity for the first time in a 185-day research mission.

After completing a 185-day research mission on the International Space Station (ISS), the Expedition 64 trio including NASA astronaut Kate Rubins along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov are gearing up for their return to Earth on Friday, April 16.

The Expedition 64 crew members will parachute to Earth inside the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft this Friday at 9:34 PM EDT and land in Kazakhstan at 12:56 AM, Saturday, April 17.

The Exp 64 crew continues prepping for Friday's departure during another harvest on the station today. More... https://t.co/0oEVmsMMmp pic.twitter.com/BQsOdcoWKl

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) April 13, 2021

Live coverage of the farewells and hatch closure for the departing crew members will begin on April 16th at 5:45 PM, followed by undocking coverage at 9:15 PM, with coverage of the Soyuz deorbit burn and landing beginning at 11:30 PM. The events will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's official website.

Before departure, station commander Ryzhikov will hand command of the station to NASA astronaut Shannon Walker during a ceremony - scheduled for 3:45 p.m. April 15 - with all crew members.

The Expedition 64 crew members arrived on the space station aboard the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft on October 14, 2020. The crew reviewed the g-forces that occur when entering Earth's atmosphere and experiencing gravity for the first time in a 185-day research mission.

During her time in space, Kate Rubins of @NASA_Astronauts spent hundreds of hours working on experiments that help benefit our understanding of life on Earth. As her journey comes to a close, learn about Rubins' research-filled stay on the @Space_Station: https://t.co/r0hVRkWNj4 pic.twitter.com/gGGSLHViDU

— NASA (@NASA) April 13, 2021

Later this month, NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 members including NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet will join the Expedition 65 members aboard the station, the U.S. space agency said on Wednesday.