Soyuz MS-29 to go into orbit with Indian children’s drawings honoring Gagarin's flight

NEW DELHI, July 14. /TASS/. On its flight to the International Space Station (ISS), the Soyuz MS-29 rocket will carry with it drawings made by Indian schoolchildren, Yelena Remizova, head of Russia’s agency for international humanitarian cooperation Rossotrudnichestvo, told TASS.

"Today, a historic event will take place: Soyuz MS-29 will launch drawings by Indian schoolchildren into the near-Earth orbit," she said. "These are the works of the winners of the 'First Forever' competition, dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the flight of the first Earth astronaut, Yury Gagarin, and cooperation between Russia and India in the field of space exploration."

The launch of the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle carrying the crew of the 75th long-term expedition to the ISS is expected at 5:48 p.m. Moscow time (2:48 p.m. GMT). The spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the Pritchal module of the Russian segment of the ISS at 8:56 p.m. Moscow time (5:56 p.m. GMT). The spacecraft will carry Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov (the commander of the crew), Anna Kikina (a special correspondent for TASS on the ISS), and NASA astronaut Anil Menon. The expected duration of the mission is 261 days.