NASA Commander Jessica Meir leads an international crew, including France's second woman in space, to the ISS for eight-month mission of scientific research.

On board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft are two Nasa astronauts commander Jessica Meir (USA) and pilot Jack Hathaway (USA). They're accompanied by European Space Agency astronaut and mission specialist Sophie Adenot (France), and Roscocosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist Andrey Fedyaev (Russia).

Astronauts need a balanced diet to stay healthy and strong while they’re in space, and that’s no easy task. Since cooking is almost impossible in zero gravity, their food must be prepared in a way that’s easy to store,

Crew-12 is the first spaceflight for Hathaway and Adenot and the second for Meir and Fedyaev. The cosmonaut was a late addition to the crew, coming aboard in early December to replace his countryman Oleg Artemyev, who was allegedly pulled for violating the U.S. law known as ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations).

Astronaut pay is a lot more ordinary than the job itself. Here's how NASA salary works when missions run long, and what doesn't change at all.