Four new astronauts of Expedition 72 are settling into their orbital home, taking over from Crew-9, who splashed down near Florida.
While they adjust to microgravity, the Cygnus cargo ship is preparing for its final fiery descent into Earth’s atmosphere. Meanwhile, the station’s other residents are gearing up for the next big transition as Expedition 73 looms on the horizon with fresh arrivals ready for launch.
Unpacking and Adapting to Microgravity
Four Expedition 72 astronauts are settling into life aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after arriving on Saturday, just days after the departure of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a U.S. cargo spacecraft is preparing to leave the station after a seven-and-a-half-month stay.
NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers spent Wednesday unpacking cargo from the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft. Later, they transferred emergency hardware from the station into Dragon and reconfigured the spacecraft for its docked operations. After a midday break, they continued familiarizing themselves with space station systems and adjusting to life in orbit.
Crew-10 Adjusts to Their New Home
Their SpaceX Crew-10 teammates, Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Kirill Peskov from Roscosmos, also took part in cargo transfers and station orientation. Onishi assisted with unpacking, reviewed upcoming science tasks, and exercised on the advanced resistive device. Meanwhile, Peskov tested video reception for the European robotic arm, worked on life support systems, and continued adapting to microgravity.
The new Crew-10 quartet replaces the Crew-9 mission which undocked from the Harmony module early Tuesday in the Dragon spacecraft and splashed down off the coast of Florida near Tallahassee on the same day. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 commander Nick Hague returned to Earth with NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Hague and Gorbunov completed a 171-day mission that began on September 28, 2024. Williams and Wilmore wrapped up 286 days in space following their mission that began on June 5, 2024.
Cygnus Cargo Ship Prepares for Departure
One more spacecraft is due to depart the International Space Station this week as the Cygnus space freighter nears the end of its cargo mission that began on August 4, 2024. The uncrewed, trash-filled Cygnus is due to be removed by the Canadarm2 robotic arm from the Unity module’s Earth-facing port and then released into Earth orbit at 7:55 a.m. EDT on Friday. Cygnus will reenter Earth’s atmosphere above the South Pacific Ocean two days later for a fiery, but safe demise.
Expedition 73 on the Horizon
The station’s other three residents have been orbiting Earth since September 11, 2024, when they launched from Kazakhstan and docked to the Rassvet module aboard the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship. Now, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner are approaching the end of their mission scheduled for April 19. When they undock from the station in their Soyuz spacecraft Expedition 73 will officially begin.
New Arrivals Set for Launch
First up will be the arrival of the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft due to launch on April 8 carrying NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky. Kim and Zubritsky will be beginning their first space mission while Ryzhikov will be serving on his third expedition to the orbiting lab.
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