SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship is on its way back to Earth with scientific investigations and medical research
SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo ship successfully undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday morning and is making its return to Earth.
The CRS-24 cargo ship successfully exited the Space Station's "keep out sphere" at 10:40 a.m. after a previously scheduled attempt was postponed due to bad weather at its splashdown location off the Florida coast, according to statements from SpaceX. The keep out sphere is a 200-meter radius around the ISS.
NASA transmitted the undocking live on NASA TV and on its social media platforms.
The Dragon is expected to have a "parachute-assisted splashdown" off the coast of Panama City, Florida at approximately 3:05 p.m CST Monday, according to NASA. The splashdown will not be transmitted live, but NASA's space station blog will provide updates.
The experiments on board the Dragon will be transported to NASA's Space Station Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center after landing.
"Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the experiments to NASA's Space Station Processing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, allowing researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to Earth's gravity," NASA said.
The cargo ship is bringing back medical supplies along with more than 4,900 pounds of valuable "cargo and research," NASA's mission control said during its transmission.
This includes a retired light imaging microscope, which has been supporting numerous scientific investigations for 12 years, as well as samples from studies on colloids.
Cytoskeleton, an investigation to analyze the impact of microgravity on cellular signaling molecules, is also onboard the Dragon.
"This investigation contributes to our understanding of how the human body responds to microgravity and could support development of countermeasures to help crew members maintain optimum health on future missions," NASA said.
The Dragon launched on Dec. 21, delivering hardware, research, and crew supplies to the ISS. The cargo ship's return will mark SpaceX's 24th "commercial resupply services mission for NASA," according to the space research agency.
RISKIN REPORTS
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau signals new gun-control changes coming; here's what the Liberals have promised
In the wake of a horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has signalled that the Canadian government will be moving ahead on new gun-control measures 'in the coming weeks.' In previous Parliaments, the Liberals have made changes to Canada's gun laws, but in the 2021 federal election, Trudeau promised to go further.

Quebec ready to vaccinate against monkeypox as soon as Friday, with 25 confirmed cases
Quebec says it is ready to vaccinate people who have come into close contact with monkeypox as soon as Friday.
BREAKING | Ray Liotta, 'Goodfellas' star, dead at 67
Ray Liotta, the actor known for his roles in 'Field of Dreams' and the Martin Scorcese mob classic 'Goodfellas,' has died.
'Horrifying' conspiracy theories swirl around Texas shooting
By now it's as predictable as the calls for thoughts and prayers: A mass shooting leaves many dead, and wild conspiracy theories and misinformation about the carnage soon follow. Within hours of Tuesday's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, another rash began as internet users spread baseless claims about the man named as the gunman and his possible motives.
Texas shooting: What we know about the victims
Families are sharing photos and stories of their loved ones, who lost their lives in a mass shooting in Texas that killed at least 19 children and two adults on Tuesday afternoon.
Laverne Cox becomes first trans person honoured with Barbie doll
Mattel is honouring Laverne Cox with a Barbie doll in her likeness to celebrate the Emmy-winning actress and trans rights advocate’s 50th birthday.
Instagram down for thousands of users: Downdetector
Meta Platforms Inc's image-sharing platform Instagram was down for thousands of users on Thursday, according to outage-tracking website Downdetector.com.
Amber Heard says she receives death threats every day over Depp claims
'Aquaman' actor Amber Heard delivered the final testimony in the multimillion-dollar defamation battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp on Thursday, telling jurors she faces daily harassment and death threats since she accused the Hollywood star of abuse.
U.K. prosecutor charges actor Kevin Spacey with sexual assault
Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey has been charged with sex offenses including assaults on three men following an investigation by police in London, Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Thursday.