The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s astronaut Jonny Kim has joined two Russian cosmonauts for a space mission.
On Tuesday, April 8, the Harvard Medical School graduate blasted off with crew mates for an eight-month stay at the International Space Station (ISS).
The spacecraft carrying the three astronauts, Soyuz MS-27/73S ferry ship, took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with veteran commander Serget Ryzchikv at the controls, accompanied by rookie cosmonaut Alexey Zubritsksy on left and Kim on right.
Related: NASA spots Asteroid 2024 YR4, considered huge risk to Earth
As the rocket climbed towards orbit, Ryzchikv assured Russian flight controllers, noting, "The crew is feeling good, everything is nominal."
After eight minutes and 45 seconds, the third stage of the Soyuz 2.1a rocket shut down and the crew ship was released to fly on its own.
The crew will be welcomed at ISS by Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and NASA astronaut Donald Petit, along with SpaceX Crew 10 commander Anne McClain, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
Ryzchikov, Zubritsky, and Kim are replacing the former three, who were launched to the ISS on September 11, 2024, and who are planning to return to Earth, using their own Soyuz on April 19 to wrap up their 219-day mission in space.
Rotating space station crew on average carry out their mission for six months, however, with Kim's flight, the Russians are increasing Soyuz duration to right months to gather more data on the effects of long-term stays in space.
Related: NASA astronauts speaks to media first time after 9 months stranded in space
The Soyuz MS-27/73S ferry ship is expected to return to Earth around December 9, 2025.
