Expedition 9 in-flight images are available in the Gallery.

	ISS Artwork
	ISS Earth Observation Imagery
	Image Chronology of ISS Assembly Sequence
	Expedition 8 In-flight Imagery

The ISS Soyuz 9 spacecraft carrying the Expedition 10 crew soars toward space shortly after lift off. The launch is the beginning of a two-day journey to the International Space Station for Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov. Also on aboard the Soyuz is Russian Space Forces Test Cosmonaut Yuri Shargin.

Expedition 10 Launches, Heads to Space Station
The International Space Station's next crew, Expedition 10, is on its way. The ISS Soyuz 9 spacecraft carrying Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:06 p.m. CDT Wednesday (0306 GMT Thursday). After a two-day chase, the Soyuz will dock with the Station at 11:25 p.m. CDT Friday (0425 GMT Saturday), beginning Expedition 10's six-month stay at the orbital outpost.

Joining Chiao and Sharipov on the trip to the ISS is Russian Space Forces Test Cosmonaut Yuri Shargin. He will return to Earth with the Station's current crew, Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Fincke.

After the the Soyuz docks and leak checks are completed, Expedition 10 will enter the Station for the first time. The two crews will spend eight days conducting joint operations and ISS command handover activities. Shargin will perform scientific experiments.

Expedition 9 and Shargin will leave the Station aboard the ISS Soyuz 8 spacecraft and return to Earth on Oct. 23.

Expedition 9/10 Crew Exchange NASA TV Schedule.

Oct. 4 Briefing Materials:

• Expedition 9 Science Recap
• Expedition 10 Research Briefing

Expedition 10 Press Kit.

Room With an Out-of-This-World View Arrives at NASA

NASA Congratulates SpaceShipOne's X Prize Win

Joint Statement: International Space Station Heads of Agency Meeting

Technical Station Configuration graphic (114 Kb PDF).

Check out the Expedition 9 Press Kit.

From left to right: Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao, Russian Space Forces Cosmonaut Yuri Shargin and Expedition 10 Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Salizhan Sharipov. More Expedition 10 imagery is available in the Gallery.

Expedition 10's Stay at ISS to Feature Preps for Next Shuttle Visit
The next crew to live on the International Space Station is scheduled to arrive at the orbital outpost on Oct. 15 (CDT) aboard the ISS Soyuz 9 spacecraft. The Expedition 10 crew -- Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov -- launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin its six-month mission in space. Traveling to the Station with Chiao and Sharipov is Russian Space Forces Test Cosmonaut Yuri Shargin.

After eight days of joint operations and handover activities, Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Fincke will return to Earth with Shargin aboard the ISS Soyuz 8 spacecraft.

Chiao and Sharipov will spend the next six months in space continuing ISS science operations and maintaining station systems. They will also prepare the Station for the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight and conduct two spacewalks. Two unpiloted Progress cargo ships are slated to arrive at the Station during their tour of duty, which will end in April 2005 when they are replaced by the Expedition 11 crew.

Expedition 10 will be the first multi-person crew of all Asian extraction. The two crewmembers are veterans of Space Shuttle flights. Chiao flew on three Shuttle flights, including STS-92 - the mission that delivered the Z1 Truss in 2000. Sharipov has one flight, STS-89, under his belt. This will be Shargin's first trip into space.

Expedition 10 Mission Overview (178 Kb PDF)

The Expedition 6 crew grew this plant in a greenhouse in the Zvezda Service Module. More plant growth images

ISS Science Looks to Mars
Can humans live on Mars? Is it safe? The Vision for Space Exploration opens the door for NASA to find out. Researchers on Earth are using several experiments aboard the International Space Station to study health and safety issues.

Space travelers living on Mars for extended periods will need to grow plants, which provide food and generate oxygen. But the decreased gravity and low atmospheric pressure environment will stress the plants and make them hard to grow.

Greenhouses in the Station's Destiny Laboratory and in the Zvezda Service Module grow plants in a controlled environment. Station crews tend the plants, photograph them and harvest samples for return to Earth. Researchers can use the resulting data to develop new techniques for successfully growing plants in space.

NASA is also concerned about health hazards posed by space radiation. A spacecraft bound for Mars will be exposed to substantial amounts of radiation, and it will have to protect the humans inside from exposure.

On the Station, sensors inside the crew areas monitor radiation levels. NASA scientists, who have maintained radiation data since the beginning of human space flight, continue to learn about the dangers it poses. Researchers use the Station to test materials that could be used for Mars-bound spacecraft.

Will it ever be safe for humans to live on Mars? Researchers are learning more every day, thanks to the results of ISS experiments.

Expedition 8 Mission Overview (PDF 868 Kb)