Expedition 73

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Expedition 73
The seven-member Expedition 73 crew poses for a portrait (iss073e0249083).jpg
The Expedition 73 crew posing for a portrait inside the Zvezda module
Mission type Long-duration expedition
Operator NASA / Roscosmos
Mission duration135 days, 1 hour and 42 minutes (in progress)
Expedition
Space station International Space Station
Began19 April 2025
Ended9 December 2025
Arrived aboard
Departed aboard
Crew
Crew size7–11
Members
EVAs 1
EVA duration5 hours, 44 minutes
ISS Expedition 73 Patch.png
Expedition 73 mission patch
The official portrait of the Expedition 73 crew (iss073-s-002).jpg
Left to right, top row: Peskov, Kim, Ryzhikov, Zubritsky and Onishi. Bottom row: Ayers and McClain.

Expedition 73 is the 73rd long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). The expedition began with the departure of Soyuz MS-26 on 19 April 2025 with JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi taking over the ISS command. [1] It continues the extensive scientific research conducted aboard the ISS, focusing on various fields, including biology, human physiology, physics, and materials science. The crew members also maintain and upgrade the space station systems.

Contents

Background, Crew, and Events

The expedition consisted of NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, and Jonny Kim, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Alexey Zubritsky.

The expedition has seen one spacewalk so far. On May 1, 2025, McClain and Ayers performed a 5-hour, 44-minute EVA to install a modification kit on the port side of the station’s truss structure enabling the future installation of its seventh iROSA and relocated an antenna that communicates with approaching and departing commercial crew and cargo spacecraft.

On June 26, 2025, the crew was joined by the staff of Axiom Mission 4's Crew Dragon Grace: commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. [2] [3] Their mission marked India, Poland, and Hungary's return to crewed spaceflight for the first time in over 40 years. [4] During their two-week stay aboard the ISS, the astronauts carried out 60 experiments planned by 31 different countries. [3] [5]

SpaceX Crew-11 arrived at the ISS on August 2, transporting NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. The mission featured a handover with Crew-10 of six days. Onishi handed over command of the space station to Ryzhikov on August 5. Crew-10 departed with McClain, Ayers, Onishi, and Peskov on August 8.

Events manifest

Events involving crewed spacecraft are listed in bold.

Previous mission: Expedition 72

19 April 2025 - Soyuz MS-26 undocking, official switch from Expedition 72

22 April 2025 - CRS SpX-32 docking

1 May 2025 - EVA 1 (US-93) McClain/Ayers: 5 hrs, 44 mins

23 May 2025 - CRS SpX-32 undocking

26 June 2025 - Axiom Mission 4 docking (Non-Expedition crew)

1 July 2025 - Progress MS-29 undocking

5 July 2025 - Progress MS-31 docking

14 July 2025 - Axiom Mission 4 undocking (Non-Expedition crew)

2 August 2025 - SpaceX Crew-11 docking

5 August 2025 - ISS Expedition 73 change of command from Takuya Onishi to Sergey Ryzhikov

8 August 2025 - SpaceX Crew-10 undocking

25 August 2025 - CRS SpX-33 docking

27 November 2025 - Soyuz MS-28 docking(planned)

8 December 2025 - ISS Expedition 73/74 change of command from Sergey Ryzhikov to Michael Fincke [ citation needed ]

9 December 2025 - Soyuz MS-27 undocking, official switch to Expedition 74 (planned)

Next mission: Expedition 74

Crew

FlightAstronautIncrement 73aIncrement 73bIncrement 73cIncrement 73d
19 Apr-2 Aug 20252-8 Aug 20258 Aug-27 Nov 2025
(ongoing)
27 Nov-9 Dec 2025
(planned)
Soyuz MS-27 Flag of Russia.svg Sergey Ryzhikov, Roscosmos
Third spaceflight
Flight engineerCommander
Flag of Russia.svg Alexey Zubritsky, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Flight engineer
Flag of the United States.svg Jonny Kim, NASA
First spaceflight
Flight engineer
SpaceX Crew-10 Flag of the United States.svg Anne McClain, NASA
Second spaceflight
Flight engineerOff station
Flag of the United States.svg Nichole Ayers, NASA
First spaceflight
Flight engineerOff station
Flag of Japan.svg Takuya Onishi, JAXA
Second spaceflight
CommanderOff station
Flag of Russia.svg Kirill Peskov, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Flight engineerOff station
SpaceX Crew-11 Flag of the United States.svg Zena Cardman, NASA
First spaceflight
Off stationFlight engineer
Flag of the United States.svg Michael Fincke, NASA
Fourth spaceflight
Off stationFlight engineer
Flag of Japan.svg Kimiya Yui, JAXA
Second spaceflight
Off stationFlight engineer
Flag of Russia.svg Oleg Platonov, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Off stationFlight engineer
Soyuz MS-28
(planned)
Flag of Russia.svg Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Roscosmos
Second spaceflight
Off stationFlight engineer
Flag of Russia.svg Sergey Mikayev, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Off stationFlight engineer
Flag of the United States.svg Christopher Williams, NASA
First spaceflight
Off stationFlight engineer

Vehicle manifest

VehiclePurposePortDocking dateUndocking date
Vehicles inherited from Expedition 72
Flag of Russia.svg Progress MS-29 Cargo Poisk zenith23 Nov 20241 Jul 2025
Flag of Russia.svg Progress MS-30 Cargo Zvezda aft1 Mar 2025Aug 2025
Flag of the United States.svg SpaceX Crew-10 "Endurance"Exp. 72/73 crew Harmony forward16 Mar 20258 Aug 2025
Flag of Russia.svg Soyuz MS-27 "Favor"Exp. 72/73 crew Prichal nadir8 Apr 20259 Dec 2025
Vehicles docked during Expedition 73
Flag of the United States.svg CRS SpX-32 Cargo Harmony zenith22 Apr 202523 May 2025
Flag of the United States.svg Ax-4 "Grace"Visiting commercial mission Harmony zenith26 Jun 202514 Jul 2025
Flag of Russia.svg Progress MS-31 Cargo Poisk zenith3 Jul 2025Dec 2025
Flag of the United States.svg SpaceX Crew-11 "Endeavour"Exp. 73/74 crew Harmony zenith2 Aug 2025April 2026 (Exp. 74)
Flag of the United States.svg CRS SpX-33 Cargo Harmony forward25 Aug 2025December 2025
Flag of Russia.svg Soyuz MS-28 "Gyrfalcon"Exp. 73/74 crew Rassvet nadir27 Nov 202515 June 2026 (Exp. 74)
Segment Flag of the United States.svg US Orbital Segment Flag of Russia.svg Russian Orbital Segment
PeriodHarmony forwardHarmony zenithHarmony nadirUnity nadirRassvet nadirPrichal nadirPoisk zenithZvezda aft
19–22 Apr 2025SpaceX Crew-10VacantVacantVacantVacantSoyuz MS-27Progress MS-29Progress MS-30
22 Apr–23 May 2025CRS SpX-32
23 May–26 Jun 2025Vacant
26 Jun–1 Jul 2025Ax-4
1–5 Jul 2025Vacant
5–14 Jul 2025Progress MS-31
14 Jul–2 Aug 2025Vacant
2–8 Aug 2025SpaceX Crew-11
8–25 Aug 2025Vacant
25 Aug 2025–presentCRS SpX-33

The Prichal aft, forward, starboard, and aft ports all have yet to be used since the module originally docked to the station and are not included in the table.

References

  1. "大西卓哉宇宙飛行士のISS船長(ISSコマンダー)就任決定" [Astronaut Takuya Onishi appointed as ISS Commander]. JAXA (in Japanese). 2 December 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2024. [We are pleased to announce that Takuya Onishi, an astronaut from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), has been selected as the ISS commander for the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 73. Astronaut Onishi will be the third Japanese ISS commander and will lead the ISS during the Expedition 73 mission.]
  2. "Axiom Mission 4". nasa.gov. NASA . Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  3. 1 2 Harwood, William (26 June 2025). "Ax-4 crew docks with International Space Station after 28-hour rendezvous". cbsnews.com. CBS News . Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  4. "India, Poland, Hungary make spaceflight comeback with ISS mission". france24.com. Agence France-Presse. 25 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  5. "Polska na orbicie. Misja IGNIS wystartowała!". gov.pl. Ministerstwo Rozwoju i Technologii. 25 June 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.