Parking in space: ISS crew docks Soyuz spacecraft with newly arrived Russian Nauka module

 The crew at the International Space Station (ISS) has successfully relocated a Soyuz spacecraft from one module to another as they await the arrival of the next rotation crew from Earth. Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy, commander of the Soyuz, and Pyotr Dubrov along with Nasa astronaut Mark Vande Hei re-docked the Soyuz MS-18 with the Nauka module freeing up parking space at the Earth-facing Rassvet module.

This is the first time that a spacecraft has been parked with the Nauka Module that arrived at the Space Station in July. Meanwhile, it was the 20th Soyuz port relocation in station history and the first since March 2021.

Nauka arrived at the station in July and was attached to the station’s Zvezda module, providing a new laboratory and robotic arm aboard the orbiting outpost to conduct experiments and store scientific instruments. In addition, Nauka provides an additional sleeping area and toilet for station crew members