10 Crew Members Aboard Orbiting Station For Next Two Weeks

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, were lifted into space aboard a Soyuz MS-27 rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 8, 2025, and successfully docked with the Russian-built Prichal module about three hours and two orbits later.

When the hatches open, the three will join the crew of Expedition 72 which includes NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain, and Don Pettit, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Kirill Peskov Ivan Vagner, and Alexey Ovchinin.

NASA will livestream the hatch opening starting at 7 am on NASA+.

Expedition 73 will begin on Saturday April 19 after the departure of Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner as they complete a seven-month mission performing scientific research aboard the orbiting laboratory.

The ceremonial change of command will be held on Friday April 18 at 2:40 pm as Ovchinin transfers the leadership role to Onishi. That ceremony can also be watched via livestream on NASA+.

This will be Ryzhikov’s third spaceflight aboard the ISS but the first flights for Kim and Zubritsky. During his eight-month stay, Kim will conduct research in technology development, Earth science, biology, human research, and more.

In its 25 years in orbit, nearly 300 astronauts have spent time on the Station, some have been there multiple times,

FMI:  plus.nasa.gov/ , www.nasa.gov/