A trio of astronauts took off in the Soyuz rocket on Sept. 2, accompanied by Legos and bicycles. “The crew is doing well, everything is in order onboard,” relayed mission control. The crew is scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station on Friday, Sept. 4.
ABOUT THE CREW HEADED TO THE ISS
The 3-man crew on the 2-day flight to the ISS consists of Veteran cosmonaut, Sergei Volkov of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, military pilot Aidyn Aimbetov from Kazakhstan and Andreas Mogensen. Mogensen, who was selected as an ESA astronaut in 2009, is the first Danish person to fly to space. Volkov will stay at the ISS for six months while both Aimbetov and Mogensen plan to return to Earth next week. The crew was also accompanied by about 20 Lego mini-figures. Go figure.
WHY BRING LEGOS TO SPACE?
The little plastic Lego astronauts will act as prizes for a contest which invites Danish schoolchildren to produce videos about the country’s mission in space, and share them on YouTube, according to CBS News. Mogensen brought the Legos, which were produced in Denmark, along with him on the trip. Taking a lighter approach with serious space trips could encourage and inspire younger generations to get involved with space travel and research in the future.
FURTHER PLANS FROM THE CREW
Danish astronaut, Mogensen, also plans to test out exercise bicycles aboard the ISS. Considering nine out of ten Danes own a bicycle, it comes as no surprise that the bikes were built by Danish Aerospace Company for the Soyuz rocket. Mogensen will test out a new heart rate monitor and force-measuring pedals on these seatless bikes (none are needed for zero gravity conditions). These machines will help astronauts battle the negative physical impacts of being in space.
Besides testing out bikes and playing with Legos, the crew will also carry out a total of 47 scientific experiments in space, according to Nature World Report. The impact of space travel will be monitored for Mogensen and Aimbetov, as their short voyage is unique since missions normally last several months, according to ESA. Hopefully these results can help us better accommodate humans during space travel, inspiring us to want to launch to space in the future.
