Soyuz MS-13 to land at noon on Feb 6
MOSCOW. Jan 27 (Interfax) - The Soyuz MS-13 capsule manned by Christina Koch, a NASA astronaut who has set the women's record for space mission duration, Alexander Skvortsov of Russia, and Luca Parmitano of Italy will land at noon (Moscow time) on February 6, Russian state corporation Roscosmos said in a statement on Monday.
"Consistent with the flight plan of the International Space Station, the Soyuz MS-13 capsule is due to land on February 6, 2020. It will bring to Earth the crew of Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch. The capsule is expected to land at 12:14:16 p.m. Moscow time," the statement said.
Preparations for the Soyuz landing will begin at approximately 5:30 a.m. Moscow time, when the crew will close the hatch between the spaceship and the ISS Pirs module. Undocking is due to take place at 8:49 a.m. Moscow time. The crew will then initiate the engine braking process, and the spaceship will start leaving the orbit. After this, the compartments will separate from one another. The landing capsule carrying the crew and the cargo will continue its controlled descent, and the remaining parts of the ship will burn up in the dense layers of the atmosphere.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch will return to Earth having broken the women's record for space mission duration. The previous record was set by NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who spent 288 days in space in 2017. Koch's mission is supposed to last for 328 days.
The ISS will be manned by Oleg Skripochka of Russia and Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir of the United States.