ESA weblog: Launch, and return, updates (1 November, 2018) (Link zum Eintrag auf deutsch)

“ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst, NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Prokopyev will welcome new arrivals to the International Space Station on 3 December: Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques, NASA astronaut Anne McClain and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko will increase the population of humans in space to six. The newcomers will be part of Expedition 57 for a few days, and will continue their mission as Expeditions 58/59 members only when Alexander and his crewmates undock from the Space Station.”

Exerting the force, plumbing and melting in space. (Today)

“Gravity is constantly exerting its force on objects. When you lift a cup of coffee, you are moving it against gravity. Humans learn how to live with this force of nature from infancy – babies learn to adjust their grip to the weight of objects.

In the weightless environment of the International Space Station astronauts need to adjust to the new world in space much like infants need to learn to hold on to objects. How his brain adapts to an environment where objects have no weight and decides how much grip is needed to move things is at the core of the Grip experiment.”