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Astronaut Mom Takes Daughter's Rabbit to ISS
9 Feb
Summary
- An astronaut is taking her daughter's stuffed rabbit to the International Space Station.
- The ISS is scheduled for deorbit in 2030, ending its 25-year continuous habitation.
- Crew-12's mission will be one of the last to live aboard the aging space station.
A small, stuffed rabbit will embark on an adventure to the International Space Station with the four-member Crew-12 mission, scheduled to launch from Florida next week. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir is bringing the beloved toy belonging to her three-year-old daughter.
Meir expressed that while leaving her young child for an eight-month mission is challenging, she hopes her daughter will understand the significance of the absence. The astronaut aims to share photos of the rabbit on the ISS, fostering a connection and inspiring her child.
Crew-12, which includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral. This mission replaces Crew-11, which returned early due to the station's first medical evacuation.
The International Space Station, continuously inhabited for 25 years, is set to be deorbited into the Pacific Ocean in 2030. Crew-12 will be among the final groups to reside in the orbiting laboratory.
