Maine astronaut Jessica Meir takes command of International Space Station
International Space Station —
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, who is from Maine, officially assumed command of the International Space Station on Saturday during a change of command ceremony, taking over leadership of the orbiting laboratory from Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.
Kud-Sverchkov is concluding his mission aboard the station alongside NASA flight engineer Chris Williams and Roscosmos flight engineer Sergei Mikaev. The trio is scheduled to return to Earth at 6:25 a.m. EDT on Sunday.
Ahead of their departure, Meir reflected on the crew’s time together in a post on X, calling it “a bittersweet day” as the station prepares to say goodbye to the Soyuz 74S crew.
“Expedition 74 has been full of science, technology demonstrations and station maintenance, and most importantly, enduring friendship and ‘huggles,'” Meir wrote. “See you back on Earth my friends!”