(Pakistan Point News - 18th Apr, 2023) DUBAI, 17th April, 2023 (WAM) – The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) today announced Sultan AlNeyadi along with his crew was responsible for sending back critical research samples on the Dragon cargo spacecraft before its return from the 27th contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft carrying approximately 1950 kg of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo back to Earth, splashed down off the coast of Tampa, Florida in the US on Sunday at 12:58 UAE time.
AlNeyadi, who has been working on scientific experiments on the ISS, completed the stowage of critical research samples along with his Expedition 69 crew members, that include NASA’s Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg and Frank Rubio. AlNeyadi further accessed the Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer (MELFI) on the ISS, that can reach temperatures to a low of
-100°C, to preserve some samples before sending them to Earth and was also involved in loading the used station hardware inside the Dragon spacecraft.
Some of the scientific investigations that were returned to Earth include the following:
AlNeyadi also activated the Dragon spacecraft’s monitoring tools and software and closed the vehicle’s hatch before it undocked from the ISS. After splashing down off the coast of Florida, the Dragon cargo carrying the experiments were transported to NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, allowing researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to Earth’s gravity. The completed research and discarded lab gear will now be sent to scientists and engineers around the world for analysis.
