Here's everything you need to know about NASA's SpaceX Crew-3 mission

The Crew-3 mission will carry NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron as well as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer on a science expedition to the microgravity laboratory as part of the Commercial Crew Program. The crew will arrive at the space station early the next day after an approximate journey of 22-hour for a short overlap with the SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-3 mission, the third crew rotation flight that will carry an international crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station, will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft launching on a Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday, October 30, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Crew-3 astronauts will arrive at the space station early the next day after an approximate journey of 22-hour for a short overlap with the SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts.

Crew members

The Crew-3 mission will carry NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, who will serve as commander and pilot, respectively, and Kayla Barron as well as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer on a science expedition to the microgravity laboratory as part of the Commercial Crew Program. Barron and Maurer both will serve as mission specialists.

This will be the first spaceflight for Chari, Maurer and Barron and the third for Marshburn, who previously served as a crew member of the space shuttle STS-127 mission in 2009 and Expedition 34/35 which concluded in 2013.

Veteran astronaut and @SpaceX Crew-3 Pilot @AstroMarshburn talks about launching to space soon on the #CrewDragon Endurance, his 3rd different spacecraft. #AskNASA pic.twitter.com/V5iFV13RBZ

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) October 7, 2021

The SpaceX Crew-2 mission with NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is scheduled for return in mid-November aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour on which they launched following a short crew handover period aboard the station while Crew-3 astronauts will return in late April 2022.

NASA's contract with SpaceX is for six total crew missions to the space station. These missions are aimed at proving expanded utility, additional research time, and broader opportunities for discovery on the orbital outpost.