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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Leaving the International Space Station
Explanation: It was time to go home. During their eight days aboard the Earth- orbiting International Space Station (ISS), ESA Flight Engineer Claudie Haigner , Russian Commander Victor Afanasyev, and Russian Flight Engineer Konstantin Kozeev had completed several experiments and successfully delivered a new lifeboat. The lifeboat was actually the new Soyuz capsule they arrived in -- they returned home in an older Soyuz capsule that had been left six months ago. Haigner, an expert in rheumatology and neuroscience , studied the development of frog embryos under microgravity conditions. Pictured above on October 31 , their Soyuz spacecraft undocks from the ISS while dark space and a blue Earth hover in the background .
| Date | December 17, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: Rosaviakosmos , CNES , NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |