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Pair of Space Freighters Packed for Departure

NASA and ESA Astronauts
(From left) Astronauts Barry Wilmore, Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts pose for a portrait inside the Destiny laboratory.

A pair of docked space freighters is being loaded in preparation for next month’s departure activities. The ISS Progress 57 (57P) resupply ship is being packed with trash and discarded gear for a fiery disposal over the Pacific Ocean. The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is being loaded with experiment samples, spacesuit gear and other hardware to be returned to Earth when the ship splashes down off the Pacific coast of Baja California.

› Read more about the SpaceX CRS-5 mission

The International Space Station is getting ready for another round of Cubesat deployments from outside Japan’s Kibo lab module. Meanwhile, inside the station the six-member Expedition 42 crew worked a wide array of microgravity science, spacewalk preparations and ongoing maintenance, keeping their orbital home safe and sound.

Astronauts Terry Virts and Samantha Cristoforetti worked in the Quest airlock readying tools for a trio of spacewalks set to begin in February. Those spacewalks will get the station wired and ready for two new spacecraft docking adapters to be installed later this year.