Skirpochka and Skvortsov are crew members participating in the 61st International Space Station Expedition, commanded by the European Space Agency's Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano. They are conducting micro-gravity and space environment research alongside the joint efforts of NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe) and CSA (Canada).In late September, Jewish astronaut Jessica Meir joined the crew of the International Space Station - alongside the two Russian cosmonauts. In October, Meir participated in the first all-female spacewalk.Commemorating the Holocaust... from outer space. Astronauts with @roscosmos dedicated the time to take #WeRemember photos in solidarity against all forms of xenophobia for International Holocaust Remembrance Day.With special thanks to the Russian Jewish Congress. pic.twitter.com/H5KOjqHZ1m
— WJC (@WorldJewishCong) January 22, 2020
Meir’s late father was born in Iraq but immigrated with his family to pre-state Israel as a young child, later fighting in the country’s War of Independence in 1948. He went on to become a doctor and take a job in Sweden, where he met Meir’s mother. The couple moved to Maine where his father was offered a job there.Meir brought an Israeli flag to the space station as one of her allowed personal items.Heads of State from Europe, North America and Australia converged on Yad Vashem Thursday for the Fifth World Holocaust Forum. The event, entitled “Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism,” was organized by the World Holocaust Forum Foundation, headed by Dr. Moshe Kantor, in cooperation with Yad Vashem, under the auspices of the President of the State of Israel, Reuven Rivlin. As the world marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the message is clear – on earth and above – antisemitism has no place in our global society.Jerusalem Post Staff and Marcy Oster contributed to this report.At 1:33pm EST, @Astro_Jessica and @Astro_Christina concluded today's spacewalk. After working 6 hours and 58 minutes the two successfully completed the battery upgrade for one channel on one pair of the station’s solar arrays. #AskNASA | Read more... https://t.co/GQfO9zyIGP pic.twitter.com/e3mHSeM8l3
— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) January 20, 2020