The departure from the International Space Station (ISS) of the Crew Dragon Freedom shuttle with the Crew 4 crew, which includes Samantha Cristoforetti, of the European Space Agency (Esa ), with the Americans Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren and Jessica Watkins.
This was announced by NASA, specifying that the ditching is scheduled for 23.41 Italian on 13 October.
The handover ceremony between Cristoforetti and the new commander of the ISS, the Russian Sergey Prokopyev, is also scheduled today, at 16.05 Italian time.
NASA adds that the only unknown is the weather conditions at the time expected for the ditching, in the area between the Gulf of Mexico and in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
The situation, adds NASA, is being monitored constantly and a cold front is now expected to pass through the area.
An update is expected in the day, six hours from the time scheduled for the detachment of the Dragon Freedom Crew from the ISS.
In the event of adverse weather conditions, the American space agency says the departure can be postponed until 13 October.