SpaceX Crew-10 had an “alien” encounter after docking at the International Space Station (ISS) early Sunday morning.
“Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner jokingly wore an alien mask while welcoming crew from the SpaceX Dragon capsule, which docked at the ISS at 12:04 a.m., approximately 29 hours after launching at 7:03 p.m. on Friday from NASA’S Kennedy Space Center in Florida,” Fox News reported. The SpaceX crew is on a mission to rescue two NASA astronauts who have been stranded in orbit for nine months.
Vagner can be seen on video floating around wearing an alien mask, along with a hoodie, pants, and socks, during a “lighthearted moment” while ISS crew prepared the capsule for deboarding, a NASA spokesperson told the outlet.
“NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov entered the International Space Station shortly after opening the hatches between the space station and the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at 1:35 a.m. EDT,” NASA said in a statement.
Astronaut Suni Williams ultimately opened the hatch and the SpaceX crew floated in and hugged and greeted the Expedition 72 crew after Vagner’s extraterrestrial impression.
“It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive,” Williams told Mission Control.
Williams and astronaut Butch Wilmore are schedule to show the SpaceX crew around the ISS before they return home. Their mission was only supposed to last for one week following the launch of Boeing’s first astronaut flight. However, the pair were stuck on the ISS after NASA brought the Boeing Starliner back empty, citing concerns with the spacecraft.
Crew-9 commander Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are also set to leave the station early Wednesday morning, before landing off of Florida’s coast, according to the report.