NASA and SpaceX Crew-13 Mission

A study published in the journal Circulation analyzed 13 astronauts who spent roughly six months or 160 days aboard the International Space Station, tracking their heart function before, during, and after their missions.

During the first two weeks in space, echocardiograms showed temporary declines in cardiac filling and stroke volume, meaning the heart filled with less blood and pumped less per beat.

Astronauts followed a NASA program called Exercise Countermeasures, working out for up to two hours daily with 30 to 45 minutes of endurance training and 60 to 75 minutes of resistance training.

As missions progressed, the astronauts' cardiac filling and stroke volume gradually rebounded toward preflight levels despite the initial weightlessness.

To simulate Martian gravity after returning to Earth, researchers tilted astronauts 22 degrees upward from a lying position, and their hearts handled the environment without major cardiovascular strain.

On October 13, 2026, SpaceX's CRS-35 cargo mission launched miniature human hearts and peppercorn-sized brain models from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the International Space Station.

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NASA, and Space Tango created the experiment because six months in microgravity accelerates human biological aging by 10 to 20 years.

The payload includes up to 16 miniature hearts to monitor electrical responses in near-zero gravity and miBrain models to study neurological conditions like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

The tissues are housed inside a shoebox-sized automated laboratory system called a CubeLab built by aerospace company Space Tango.

On October 13, 2026, SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo capsule from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for NASA's CRS-35 mission.

The spacecraft is transporting more than 6,300 pounds of supplies and research materials and is scheduled to autonomously dock with the International Space Station on October 15 after a 52-hour journey.

The unpressurized trunk of the Dragon capsule contains the final pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs) to augment the station's power generation, along with a clamshell apparatus to house a failed Canadarm2 joint.

Scientific hardware on board includes equipment to manufacture artificial retinas in microgravity, 3D heart tissue models for drug testing, materials to study glass formation, and brain organoids for neurodegenerative disease research.

The mission utilizes Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1096 on its eighth flight and Cargo Dragon spacecraft C211 on its fourth flight, which will remain docked at the orbiting laboratory for about a month.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission undocked from the International Space Station at 8:05 a.m. on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, to begin a 26-hour return journey.

The four-person international crew is traveling aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule named Freedom, scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California at 11:34 a.m. ET on Thursday, October 8, 2026.

Crew-12 spent nearly eight months conducting research and experiments in space after launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on February 13, 2026.

The returning astronauts consist of NASA Commander Jessica Meir, NASA Pilot Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency Mission Specialist Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev.

Crew-12 was succeeded by the four-person Crew-13 mission, which arrived at the International Space Station on October 1, 2026, for its own six-month stay.

On October 1, 2026, at 11:10 a.m. EDT, SpaceX launched the Crew-13 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, while simultaneously landing the Falcon 9 first-stage booster at Landing Zone 40.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft carried a multinational crew consisting of NASA commander Jessica Watkins, NASA astronaut Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.

Crew-13 targeted a 7-hour and 50-minute orbital transit to dock at the International Space Station's Harmony module port at 7:00 p.m. EDT, marking the fastest launch-to-docking profile in station history.

At lift-off, the International Space Station was travelling at 17,500 mph roughly 263 miles above Earth, passing directly overhead the launch pad just 97 seconds after ignition.

During their orbital mission, the astronauts will test an autonomous plant-growth system, evaluate a new in-flight health diagnostic device, and use microgravity to develop human stem cell-derived tissues for disease modeling.

On October 1, 2026, NASA and SpaceX successfully launched the Crew-13 mission carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The four-person international crew includes NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.

The mission marks the 13th operational crew rotation flight conducted by a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Liftoff occurred at 11:10 a.m. Eastern Time, with the spacecraft scheduled to dock at the orbiting laboratory at approximately 7 p.m. Eastern Time on the same day.

During their stay, the astronauts will conduct scientific investigations including growing crops in space, studying blood flow abnormalities, testing new medical diagnostic tools, and analyzing human stem cell-derived tissues for heart and Parkinson's disease research.

SpaceX launched four astronauts for NASA on Oct. 1, 2026, after a three-week delay to fix a leaking fuel system in the capsule.

The Crew-13 flight to the International Space Station was expected to take eight hours, making it SpaceX's quickest crewed trip to the orbiting lab.

Commander Jessica Watkins became the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit; the geologist previously spent time on the space station in 2022.

The crew includes three first-time space travelers: NASA's Luke Delaney, Canada's Joshua Kutryk and Russia's Sergey Teteryatnikov.

Kutryk's wife, Heather, is due to give birth to their third child in late November, which would make him the fourth man to become a father while orbiting Earth.

On October 1, 2026, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov on the Crew-13 mission.

Mission commander Jessica Watkins became the first NASA astronaut to fly twice aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft, while the capsule—named Grace—is set to complete a record eight-hour transit to dock with the International Space Station.

The mission was previously delayed from mid-September after an oxidizer leak was discovered on the Dragon capsule during processing, requiring extensive troubleshooting by NASA and SpaceX teams.

During their six-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, the four crew members will conduct biomedical and human-performance studies, including research on microgravity's effects on blood circulation, clotting, stem cells for Parkinson's disease treatments, and crop production.

The launch follows SpaceX's initial public offering in July and comes shortly after the company's 14th uncrewed test flight of its next-generation Starship spacecraft.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 11:10 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2026, to launch the Crew-13 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

If completed on schedule, the Dragon spacecraft will dock with the International Space Station in 7 hours and 50 minutes, marking the fastest U.S. spacecraft journey to the station in history.

The four-person crew consists of NASA commander Jessica Watkins, pilot Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.

The mission was previously delayed due to an oxidizer leak in the Dragon propulsion system, which required replacing a faulty valve.

The astronauts will spend approximately six months conducting scientific research and technology demonstrations as part of Expedition 75 before returning in March 2027.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft carrying the Crew-13 astronauts are scheduled to lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday at 11:10 a.m. ET, facing a 45% chance of weather delays.

The flight is projected to take under 8 hours, making it the fastest trip to the International Space Station in history due to favorable orbital mechanics and a recent station orbit adjustment.

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk is bringing a family pocket watch that is over 100 years old aboard the spacecraft as a personal heirloom.

The four-person crew includes NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, and Kutryk, who will spend six months conducting medical research on stem-cell-derived tissues for heart disease and Parkinson's.

Prior to the launch, SpaceX had delayed the mission from August due to an oxidizer leak in the spacecraft propulsion system, alongside troubleshooting issues with GPS and a rocket engine motor microcontroller.

Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk is scheduled to launch on the NASA SpaceX Crew 13 mission this Thursday for a six-month stay at the International Space Station.

The four-person crew includes commander Jessica Watkins, pilot Luke Delaney, Sergey Teteryatnikov, and Kutryk, departing from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This mission follows a significant year for Canadian space exploration, which included Jeremy Hansen’s participation in the Artemis II lunar flight earlier in 2026.

NASA and SpaceX scheduled the Crew-13 mission launch for October 1, 2026, at 11:10 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral, following a delay caused by an oxidizer leak in the Dragon spacecraft's propulsion system.

The four-person crew includes NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.

Jessica Watkins will become the first NASA astronaut to fly aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft twice, having previously completed a 170-day mission in 2022.

The mission, part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, will transport the team to the International Space Station to join Expedition 75 for a seven-month research residency.

NASA and SpaceX postponed the Crew-13 mission, originally scheduled for September 12, 2026, after detecting an oxidizer leak in the propulsion system of the Crew Dragon spacecraft named Grace.

The mission, which is the 13th operational flight under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, will carry four astronauts to the International Space Station for a planned 180-day expedition.

The crew consists of NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.

Joint teams are currently conducting additional testing and data reviews to determine if hardware rework is required before a new launch date can be established.