Expedition 26 Trio Awaiting Three New Members

The three-member Expedition 26 crew is busy onboard the International Space Station while waiting for a new trio due to arrive on Dec. 17.

Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineers Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka have been onboard the station since Oct. 9. New Flight Engineers Catherine Coleman, Paolo Nespoli and Dmitry Kondratyev are preparing for their launch on Dec. 15.

Kelly spent some time Wednesday cleaning fans in the Destiny laboratory’s intermodule ventilation system. The commander also sampled the station’s water and air then stowed the water for future analysis.

Skripochka and Kaleri worked in the Russian segment of the space station. They were conducting maintenance work on the water reclamation system.

Back in Russia, Coleman, Nespoli and Kondratyev met with the head of the Russian Federal Space Agency. On Friday they will fly to Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, for two more weeks of pre-launch activities.