First All-European Commercial Astronaut Crew Begins Research at Space Station

The mission arranged by Axiom Space will research cancer cures, remote-controlled robots, space horticulture, microgravity, and more.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 01:43 PM ET

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The Ax-3 mission crew (from left, Michael Lopez-Alegría, Alper Gezeravcı, Marcus Wandt, and Walter Villadei) arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday and began a series of experiments. [Courtesy: Axiom Space]

Key Takeaways:

The Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3), the first all-European commercial astronaut mission, has docked with the International Space Station for a two-week research period.
The multinational crew is conducting over 30 experiments, focusing on diverse areas such as microgravity's effects on neurodegenerative diseases, space botany, remote-controlled robotics, and cancer prevention.
This marks the third private astronaut mission to the ISS, launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule.

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A team of astronauts has arrived at the International Space Station to study microgravity, space botany, remote-controlled robots, and even methods to prevent cancer.

The multinational crew of Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3)—the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the space station—docked with the orbital laboratory Saturday morning and will spend two weeks conducting more than 30 experiments for NASA and its countries’ respective space agencies.