Aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn handed over command of the International Space Station to Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev during a change of command ceremony May 4. Farewell remarks also took place ahead of Crew-3 undocking and splashdown following their six-month mission aboard the orbital outpost. Marshburn and Artemyev are in the midst of long duration missions living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions. — NASA — Life Aboard the Space Station Source: NASA (https://images.nasa.gov/) Licence: Public domain (work of the U.S. federal government, 17 U.S.C. §105) Audio is served by the publisher; Budi does not host or modify it.
0:01Station, this is Houston. Are you ready for the event? We are ready for the event. So good afternoon on the International Space Station. It's been an interesting day for us. We've been flying around the station collecting our last-minute photos, our last minute items and getting ready to come home. So a bit of a bittersweet moment I think for a day for all of us. So just wanted to say we all like to say a couple of words but of course none of this would happen if it weren't for the incredible professionals and human beings around the world that have made this space station possible, not only in the audacity of even thinking that this could happen but in pulling it off. And then every day we interact with individuals around the
0:54world that not only keep us safe, not only keeps this space stations running in orbit but also allow us to help them finish up the dreams of scientists around the International Space Station is the largest space station in the world, producing scientific data that will improve human lives for the better. And so we'd just like to say a few words here as we're hopefully going to be departing the space station here in just a few hours. I just wanted to say what an honor and a privilege it's been to live and work aboard the International Space Station with this fantastic crew and also our crewmates who we served with on Expedition 66 who departed about a month ago. It's been a spectacular experience, I think really challenging, really developmental, but most of all, really beautiful to form these amazing relationships and also not just with our crew up here, but like Tom said, with our crews all around the world in the flight control rooms who are there 24-7 making what we do up here possible.
1:56It's just been the honor of a lifetime to contribute to the legacy of this incredible vessel that's been up here for more than 20 years. And I think for all of us, it's really hard to leave. We're really looking forward to getting back to our families and our amazing support network on the ground. But I'm just so excited for you guys to have a similar experience. We've been really lucky to see the whole full range of operational and scientific operations up here. and I can't wait to contribute going forward in all of the amazing things NASA is doing alongside our international partners with the return to the moon as part of Artemis. So thank you so much to the amazing team around the world for making this a possibility
2:39and to our leadership for entrusting us as caretakers of this incredible station.
2:48And I'll just echo the thanks, you know, almost six months ago we came up here on Endurance, The maiden voyage of a SpaceX capsule and it was a great ride and we're looking forward to riding that back to Earth and to seeing friends and family. And, you know, it's exciting with Crew-4 here but also a little bit bittersweet knowing that them being here means it's time for us to pass the torch and head back to earth. But like Kayla and Tom said, thanks to just everyone. Thanks starting with our families and our friends and our families who not only dealt with this six months while we're up here but have dealt with the training and all the time to get to this phase and then the control centers, literally thousands of people around the world
3:25that on a daily basis support what we do and make what we do even possible. The trainers that got us here to begin with and taught us even though we continue to make mistakes on a day daily basis but hopefully not critical mistakes but the trainers that got up here that made this all possible to the science teams, ultimately that's the reason we're here is to do science and so I think that's for me and for all of us really the most exciting thing about being a part of such for such amazing achievements, and we look forward to seeing the papers that are published, the research that leads to new technologies and saves lives. And that's the really exciting thing. I'm just honored and humbled to have been a part of that for the last six months.
4:03So I also can only echo what my dear crewmates have said. It's been like six outstanding months up here in the space station thanks to my crewmates. It's being so beautiful thanks to all the people on the ground that supported us, International partners, all the mission control centers around the globe but also like in Europe the European Space Agency, the German Space Agency prepared a large part of the science complement that I was able to execute up here and also who trained me and made it possible that I'm here today. It's the end of a six-month mission but I think the space stream lives on. So now is the time to hand over command of the space station And just a couple of words about what it has meant to us to,
4:58some more words on what it's meant to be here. You know 100 years from now we'll be looking back on the space station, the International Space Station as certainly an incredible engineering accomplishment. Certainly as a way that countries all around the world have been able to raise their technological base and have been to produce scientific results as we've said to save lives and to improve human life. And being here a part of it, another point in our being a part of history here has been the arrival of the first private astronaut mission so that space will become open and is beginning to be open for everyone. So their commercial crew program has been very much a part of our lives here as well.
5:44But I think the lasting legacy of the Space Station is very likely to be international cooperation and a place of peace. So, Oleg, you're a very strong and experienced cosmonaut, astronaut. I know we'll be leaving the space station in good hands with you. And Ecopage 3, I wish you safe travels, success, happy work, and happy stay. And I relinquish control or command of the space station to you. I accept command. I accept commands. Thank you for being here, thank you for friendship. It was an unbelievable time together, Tom, Keila, Raja and Matthias. It's a short period, very short, 45-47 days maybe, but now brothers, sisters, you know, I think you know what more important things for us, for me, for Sergei, for Denis, the
7:07Just family, our children, peace between our countries, and our friendship. Thank you for friendship.
8:38And this is Houston ACR. Thank you. That concludes the event.
This transcript was generated automatically from the recording, so it will contain mistakes — especially around names and places.