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]

Expedition 72
Expedition 72 crew
Mission typeLong-duration expedition
OperatorNASA / Roscosmos
Mission duration70 days, 23 hours and 32 minutes (in progress)
Expedition
Space stationInternational Space Station
Began23 September 2024
EndedMarch 2025
Arrived aboard
Departed aboard
Crew
Crew size7–11
Members

Expedition 72 mission patch

Left to right, top row: Ovchinin, Williams, Wilmore
Middle row: Vagner, Pettit
Bottom row: Gorbunov, Hague

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

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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 arrived to the station on 29 September aboard SpaceX Crew-9.[5] After a handover period, SpaceX Crew-8 departed on 23 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

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Flight Crew member Increment 72a Increment 72b Increment 72c Increment 72d Increment 72e Increment 72f
23-29 Sep 2024 29 Sep-23 Oct 2024 23 Oct 2024-Feb 2025
(in progress)
Feb-Feb 2025
(planned)
Feb-Mar 2025
(planned)
Mar-Mar 2025
(planned)
Soyuz MS-26   Aleksey Ovchinin, Roscosmos
Third[a] spaceflight
Flight Engineer
    Ivan Vagner, Roscosmos
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer
  Donald Pettit, NASA
Fourth spaceflight
Flight Engineer
SpaceX Crew-8   Matthew Dominick, NASA
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer Off Station
  Michael Barratt, NASA
Third spaceflight
Flight Engineer Off Station
  Jeanette Epps, NASA
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer Off Station
  Alexander Grebenkin, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer Off Station
Boeing Crew Flight Test   Barry E. Wilmore, NASA
Third spaceflight
Flight Engineer Off Station
  Sunita Williams, NASA
Third spaceflight
Commander Off Station
SpaceX Crew-9
  Nick Hague, NASA
Second[a] spaceflight
Off Station Flight Engineer Off Station
  Aleksandr Gorbunov, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Off Station Flight Engineer Off Station
SpaceX Crew-10
(planned)
  Anne McClain, NASA
Second spaceflight
Off Station Flight Engineer
  Nichole Ayers, NASA
First spaceflight
Off Station Flight Engineer
  Takuya Onishi, JAXA
Second spaceflight
Off Station Flight Engineer
  Kirill Peskov, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Off Station Flight Engineer
Soyuz MS-27
(planned)
  Sergey Ryzhikov, Roscosmos
Third spaceflight
Off Station Flight Engineer
  Alexey Zubritsky, Roscosmos
First spaceflight
Off Station Flight Engineer
  Jonny Kim, NASA
First spaceflight
Off Station Flight Engineer

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Not counting the aborted flight of Soyuz MS-10.

References

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  1. ^ Foust, Jeff (13 September 2024). "Starliner astronauts adjust to long-term ISS stay". SpaceNews. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  2. ^ Taveau, Jessica (24 August 2024). "NASA Decides to Bring Starliner Spacecraft Back to Earth Without Crew". NASA. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  3. ^ "NASA Astronaut Don Pettit, Crewmates Arrive at Space Station".
  4. ^ Donaldson, Abbey A. (27 March 2024). "NASA Astronaut Don Pettit to Conduct Science During Fourth Mission - NASA". NASA. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  5. ^ Donaldson, Abbey A. (30 August 2024). "NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 Changes Ahead of September Launch". NASA. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  6. ^ Taveau, Jessica (1 August 2024). "NASA Shares its SpaceX Crew-10 Assignments for Space Station Mission". NASA. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  7. ^ Doyle, Tiernan P. (28 August 2024). "NASA Assigns Astronaut Jonny Kim to First Space Station Mission". NASA. Archived from the original on 30 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.