The work of the 61st long expedition is completing at the International Space Station (ISS) .

The crew of the “Soyuz MS-13” spacecraft – Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA astronaut Christina Koch – are preparing to return to Earth in accordance with the flight plan.

Today, on February 5, 2020, on board the change of crews was completed.

The commander of the 61st long expedition to the ISS – astronaut Luca Parmitano, who has been leading it since October 2019, and the commander of the 62nd expedition – cosmonaut Oleg Skrypochka signed an act of delegation of authority.

By tradition, this ceremony is accompanied by blows to the ship’s bell.

Currently, Alexander Skvortsov, Luca Parmitano and Christina Koch are engaged in operations to prepare for the upcoming landing.

In the descent vehicle of the “Soyuz MS-13” spacecraft, the crew will bring equipment and cases to be returned with the results of scientific experiments, conducted during the expedition.

According to the Mission Control Center, the closing of access hatches between the “Soyuz MS-13” spacecraft and the “Poisk” module of the Russian segment of the International Space Station is scheduled for 05:25 (Moscow time) on February 6, 2020, undocking at 08:50 (Moscow time) and landing of the descent vehicle at 12:12 (Moscow time) 147 km southeast of the city of Zhezkazgan (Kazakhstan).

All operations will be broadcast live in the Online Broadcasts section of the Roscosmos State Corporation website.

After undocking the “Soyuz MS-13” spacecraft and till the next expedition arrival aboard in April 2020, the crew (cosmonaut Oleg Skrypochka, astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan) will continue to work in orbit.