South Korea's
first astronaut is sharing some hearty laughs and traditional - but extra spicy
- space food with U.S. and Russian crewmates aboard the International Space
Station (ISS).
After a
week in space, South Korean bioengineer So-yeon Yi, 29, told reporters Tuesday
that her mission is going well and that her country's space food is apparently
a hit aboard the ISS.
"It's very delicious,"
said second-generation Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, commander of the
station's new Expedition 17 crew, via a space-to-ground video link. "Of course,
it's very spicy for sure. Despite the fact that you want things spicy when you
get up here, it was a bit more spicy than we expected or required."
Yi, Volkov
and Expedition 17 flight engineer Oleg Kononenko launched into
orbit aboard their Russian-built Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft on April 8. They
docked two days later to replace the station's outgoing Expedition
16 commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko.
"The most
fantastic thing is that I cannot feel my weight, and I can fly around like
Peter Pan," Yi told reporters. "Earth is really beautiful."
In addition
to her experiment equipment, Yi packed Korean kimchi and other traditional
foods to share with her U.S. and Russian crewmates during a holiday meal on
April 12, which Russia celebrates as Cosmonautics Day.
"Their
reaction was particularly good for instant noodles, kimchi and chili
paste," the Korean news agency Yonhap quoted Yi as saying on April
13. "I am not certain if they will become common fare in space, but others
enjoyed the food I brought and if there are any left I plan to leave some
behind for others to enjoy."
Yi will
return to Earth on Saturday with Whitson and Malenchenko aboard their Soyuz
TMA-11 spacecraft.
"So-yeon
has done a phenomenal job while she's been up here. It's great having her laugh
and smile," said a smiling Whitson, who is wrapping up a six-month mission with
Malenchenko. "And we enjoyed the Korean food. Some of us like it spicy."
Yi is
flying under a commercial agreement between Russia and South Korea, and was
initially selected from a field of 36,000 applicants to serve as a backup
astronaut. Yi moved to the prime crew last month after Russian space officials
pulled South Korea's first astronaut, artificial intelligence expert San Ko,
from the flight due to reading rule violations.
Crew
swap goes well
While Yi
performs a series of experiments and educational events for her country, a
crew swap is in full swing between the Expedition 17 and Expedition 16
astronauts.
Whitson,
the station's first female commander, and Malenchenko have lived and worked aboard
the space station since October. During their six months in space, they've
welcomed a new connecting module, European lab, Japanese storage room and
Canadian robot repairman during three visiting shuttle, as well as Europe's
first unmanned cargo ship Jules Verne.
"I have to
admit, I really enjoyed ingressing all the new modules," said Whitson, who will
set a new U.S. record for the most cumulative days in space on Wednesday. "I
think we have taken a big step in making it a truly international space
station."
Whitson and
Malenchenko are due to return to Earth with Yi Saturday, with landing targeted
for about 4:27 a.m. EDT (0827 GMT) on the Central Asian steppes of Kazakhstan.
They are
leaving behind crewmate Garret Reisman, who will join Volkov and Kononenko for
the first stage of the six-month Expedition 17 mission. A devoted Yankees fan,
Reisman will throw out the ceremonial opening pitch for Wednesday night's game between his beloved team and the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in New York City from aboard the ISS.
"I've
really just enjoyed hanging out with both Peggy and Yuri," Reisman said. "We've
had a lot of laughs and some really good times."
NASA
will broadcast the undocking and landing of Yi and the station's Expedition 16
crew live on NASA TV beginning Friday at 9:30 p.m. EDT (0130 April 19 GMT).
Click here for SPACE.com's ISS mission updates and NASA TV feed.
The
Korean news service Yonhap contributed to this report.
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