Preparations are under way to bring back three astronauts who have been on the International Space Station for nearly a year – six months longer than expected.
A rescue craft sent by Russian space agency Roscosmos earlier this year is due to leave the ISS on September 27, with Nasa astronaut Frank Rubio and Russian cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev on board.
A crew member for part of their time on the ISS has been UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, who arrived in March on the Arab world's longest space mission.
The American and two Russians travelled to the ISS on September 21, 2022. But three months after docking, their Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft suffered catastrophic damage – reportedly from a meteor strike.
Now rescue craft Soyuz MS-23, which arrived uncrewed at the ISS in February with 430kg of supplies, is undergoing preparations for the journey back to Earth for the three astronauts.
How are they coming back?
Nasa said that one of two manoeuvres was made on Friday, so that Soyuz MS-23 can undock successfully from the ISS.
This will help ensure the correct trajectory for the journey home, while also making arrangement for the arrival of the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft – a planned Russian crewed mission, set to travel to the space station in September.
“The Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft’s delta velocity thruster fired at 10.35am EDT Friday for 22 minutes, 48 seconds in a reboost of the International Space Station,” Nasa said on Friday.
“It was one of two scheduled reboosts to target the proper trajectory for the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-24 launch and two-orbit rendezvous to the orbiting complex on September 15, as well as the Soyuz MS-23 undocking and landing on September 27.”
The three returning astronauts are set to land in Kazakhstan, with the exact time to be announced closer to date.
What happened to the damaged spacecraft?
Roscosmos said Soyuz MS-22 was possibly damaged by a micrometeorite that made a tiny hole in the spacecraft, causing a coolant leak that was beyond repair.
It would not have been able to maintain a stable temperature for astronauts during their journey home.
Russia brought Soyuz MS-22 back to Earth in autonomous mode in March.
In February, a cargo spacecraft, Progress MS-21, suffered a similar coolant leak, which was also blamed on “external factors”.
A record time in space
The extra six months means a record time spent by an American astronaut in space will be set.
Mr Rubio will beat the record of Mark Vande Hei, who spent 355 consecutive days on the ISS from 2020 to 2021.
Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, who were on the same mission as Mr Hei, set a record time for Russians on the ISS. Mr Petelin and Mr Prokopyev are set to beat that.
Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who died last year, holds the world record for the longest single stay in space. He spent 437 days on the Mir space station.
How are stranded astronauts spending their time?
The three men have been busy carrying out duties that would have been assigned to the crew that was meant to replace them.
These include doing maintenance work, carrying out spacewalks, outreach activities and science investigations.
On board Soyuz MS-24 will be Nasa astronaut Loral O'Hara and cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub.
The UAE's Dr Al Neyadi is due to return to Earth this month on a SpaceX Dragon craft.
The%20Killer
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EDavid%20Fincher%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Fassbender%2C%20Tilda%20Swinton%2C%20Charles%20Parnell%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
Mrs%20Chatterjee%20Vs%20Norway
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ashima%20Chibber%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rani%20Mukerji%2C%20Anirban%20Bhattacharya%20and%20Jim%20Sarbh%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
Mission%3A%20Impossible%20-%20Dead%20Reckoning%20Part%20One
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Christopher%20McQuarrie%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tom%20Cruise%2C%20Hayley%20Atwell%2C%20Pom%20Klementieff%2C%20Simon%20Pegg%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Prophets of Rage
(Fantasy Records)
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Last-16
France 4
Griezmann (13' pen), Pavard (57'), Mbappe (64', 68')
Argentina 3
Di Maria (41'), Mercado (48'), Aguero (90 3')
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Suarez 27', Vidal 32', Dembele 35', Messi 78')
Sevilla 0
Red cards: Ronald Araujo, Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)
The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
