Expedition 72

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Expedition 72
ISS March 2009.jpg
Picture of the International Space Station where the Expedition 72 will take place.
Mission type Long-duration expedition
Operator NASA / Roscosmos
Mission duration6 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes (in progress)
Expedition
Space stationInternational Space Station
Began23 September 2024
EndedMarch 2025
Arrived aboard
Departed aboard
Crew
Crew size7–11
Members
ISS Expedition 72 Patch.png
Expedition 72 mission patch
Iss072-s-002.jpg
Left to right, top row: Ovchinin, Williams, Wilmore
Middle row: Vagner, Pettit
Bottom row: Gorbunov, Hague

Expedition 72 is the 72nd long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). The expedition began with the departure of Soyuz MS-25 on 23 September 2024 and is led by Sunita Williams, her second time serving as commander of the ISS. [1]

Contents

Expedition 72 will continue the extensive scientific research conducted aboard the ISS, focusing on various fields, including biology, human physiology, physics, and materials science. The crew members will also maintain and upgrade the space station systems.

Background, Crew, and Events

Initially, the expedition consists of Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Aleksandr Gorbunov, and NASA astronauts Barry E. Wilmore, Sunita Williams, Donald Pettit, and Nick Hague.

Wilmore and Williams arrived at the station on 6 June 2024 for what was expected to be a brief visit as part of the Boeing Crew Flight Test mission. However, their spacecraft experienced technical issues and returned to Earth uncrewed, and Wilmore and Williams were added to the Expedition 71/72 crew. [2]

Ovchinin, Vagner, and Pettit arrived at the station on 11 September aboard Soyuz MS-26. [3] [4] Hague and Gorbunov are expected to arrive to the station on 26 September aboard SpaceX Crew-9. [5] After a brief handover period, SpaceX Crew-8 is expected to depart on 7 October.

In February 2025, SpaceX Crew-10 is expected to arrive, transporting NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. [6]

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, along with NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, are expected to arrive at the station aboard Soyuz MS-27 in March 2025. [7]

Expedition 72 will come to a close in March 2025 when Hague, Wilmore, Williams, and Gorbunov depart on Crew-9 and Ovchinin, Vagner, and Pettit depart on Soyuz MS-26.

Crew

FlightCrew memberIncrement 72aIncrement 72bIncrement 72cIncrement 72dIncrement 72eIncrement 72f
23-29 Sep 202429 Sep-7 Oct 2024
(planned)
7 Oct 2024-Feb 2025
(planned)
Feb-Feb 2025
(planned)
Feb-Mar 2025
(planned)
Mar-Mar 2025
(planned)
Soyuz MS-26 Flag of Russia.svg Aleksey Ovchinin, Roscosmos
Third [lower-alpha 1] spaceflight
Flight Engineer
  Flag of Russia.svg Ivan Vagner, Roscosmos
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer
Flag of the United States.svg Donald Pettit, NASA
Fourth spaceflight
Flight Engineer
SpaceX Crew-8 Flag of the United States.svg Matthew Dominick, NASA
First spaceflight
Flight EngineerOff Station
Flag of the United States.svg Michael Barratt, NASA
Third spaceflight
Flight EngineerOff Station
Flag of the United States.svg Jeanette Epps, NASA
First spaceflight
Flight EngineerOff Station
Flag of Russia.svg Alexander Grebenkin, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Flight EngineerOff Station
Boeing Crew Flight Test Flag of the United States.svg Barry E. Wilmore, NASA
Third spaceflight
Flight EngineerOff Station
Flag of the United States.svg Sunita Williams, NASA
Third spaceflight
CommanderOff Station
SpaceX Crew-9
Flag of the United States.svg Nick Hague, NASA
Second [lower-alpha 1] spaceflight
Off StationFlight EngineerOff Station
Flag of Russia.svg Aleksandr Gorbunov, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Off StationFlight EngineerOff Station
SpaceX Crew-10
(planned)
Flag of the United States.svg Anne McClain, NASA
Second spaceflight
Off StationFlight Engineer
Flag of the United States.svg Nichole Ayers, NASA
First spaceflight
Off StationFlight Engineer
Flag of Japan.svg Takuya Onishi, JAXA
Second spaceflight
Off StationFlight Engineer
Flag of Russia.svg Kirill Peskov, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Off StationFlight Engineer
Soyuz MS-27
(planned)
Flag of Russia.svg Sergey Ryzhikov, Roscosmos
Third spaceflight
Off StationFlight Engineer
Flag of Russia.svg Alexey Zubritsky, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Off StationFlight Engineer
Flag of the United States.svg Jonny Kim, NASA
First spaceflight
Off StationFlight Engineer

Notes

  1. 1 2 Not counting the aborted flight of Soyuz MS-10.

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