The space mission conducted by Russia and South Korea is going really well and everyone involved in the process seems to be very enthusiastic.

NASA announced that the Expedition 16 and 17 crews began work on Bioemulsion, a Russian microorganism project.

Also they began working on ELITE-S2, an Italian Space Agency project that studies connections between the brain, motion and visualization in the absence of gravity.

ELaboratore Immagini Televisive – Space 2 (ELITE-S2) will investigate the connection between the brain, visualization and motion in the absence of gravity. By recording and analyzing the three-dimensional motion of astronauts, this study will help engineers apply ergonomics into future spacecraft designs and determine the effects of weightlessness on breathing mechanisms for long-duration missions. Results might also be applied to neurological patients on the ground with impaired motor control.

Expedition 17 Commander Sergei Volkov and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko installed a temperature sensor switching unit as well as other hardware into the newly arrived Soyuz. Volkov also performed a Soyuz communications link check with Expedition 17 Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko.

The mission had a large impact in the media also thanks to the boarding of Korean astronaut So-yeon Yi, who declared she had had a great first experience in space. The first day on board of the orbiting station was spent discussing safety procedures with the outgoing crew and since then and until her return, So-yeon Yi will conduct a series of scientific tests.

On Saturday, she has also prepared a very special moment for the Russian holiday Cosmonautics day. The event celebrates the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first human space flight on April 12th, 1961.

Yi cooked traditional Korean food, including the fermented cabbage dish kimchi, for her crewmates and sang some traditional Korean melodies.

According to the Associated Press, the mission was considered a top priority for the South Korean government who has made a $20 million deal with Russia to co-sponsor the flight and ensure Yi’s participation on the trip. She has now become the first Korean to reach space.

South Korea has thus become the 36th country to send a person into space, and this is just the first step from a more ambitious plan Seoul has for the next 20 years, as they are planning a moon land by 2025, according to their own estimations.