Noguchi Passes Baton over to Hoshide at ISS

Tokyo, April 27 (Jiji Press)--Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who will soon bid farewell to the International Space Station to return to Earth, passed the baton over to fellow countryman Akihiko Hoshide Monday night Japan time to cheer him on his stay in space. Appearing at a press conference at the space station's Kibo Japanese laboratory, Noguchi, 56, who has been staying at the ISS since November, presented Hoshide, 52, who arrived only on Saturday on a six-month mission, with a relay sash. "I'm happy that I'm able to hand the baton over to a fellow Japanese astronaut at Kibo," Noguchi said. Hoshide said that he was thankful that the handover process can be done in Japanese. Hoshide, who will soon become the second Japanese astronaut to take command of the ISS, said, "I hope to develop teamwork by bringing out the strengths of experienced crew members." NASA said the return date for Noguchi and three other astronauts has been pushed back to Sunday Japan time from Thursday due to weather conditions in the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida. END