BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will enjoy an extra day off to get some extra sleep and prepare for a bit of spring cleaning following the recent transfer of crewmembers.

    The crew of the space lab were given a chance to sleep in on Sunday.

    "Under the schedule, ISS-15 crew Fedor Yurchikhin, Oleg Kotov and Sunita Williams are to get up at 0800, but we shall not wake them up," Irina Alferova, head of the medical ground crew at the the Mission Control Center in the Moscow Region told ITAR-TASS. "Let them have a good sleep after the two weeks of changing hands.

    "They have regular off days on Sundays and Mondays, but we plan to give them rest also on Tuesday, though not the entire day," Alferova added.

    The crew will switch over to the ordinary daytime schedule of work during the three days.

    During the past month, the cosmonauts lived according to a "bats" schedule, since many operations, on a demand from ballistic specialists, were planned for nighttime.

    Although the cosmonauts have an off day this Sunday, they will have to spend some time to tidy up their orbital home.

    Yurchikhin and Kotov, who arrived at the station on April 9, will test the role of space office-cleaners, while experienced Williams, who has been living on the station since last December, will "command the parade."

    (Agencies)