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By NASA
NASA/Joel Kowsky A Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 73 crew members including NASA astronaut Jonny Kim on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The crew arrived at the space station the same day, bringing the number of residents to 10 for the next two weeks. Expedition 73 will begin on Saturday, April 19, following the departure of NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, as they conclude a seven-month science mission aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Throughout his eight-month stay aboard the orbital outpost, Kim will conduct scientific research in technology development, Earth science, biology, and human research.
Follow space station activities on the International Space Station blog.
Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
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By NASA
NASA astronauts (left to right) Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under Artemis. Astronauts on their first flight aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft will confirm all of the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.
The unique Artemis II mission profile will build upon the uncrewed Artemis I flight test by demonstrating a broad range of SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion capabilities needed on deep space missions. This mission will prove Orion’s critical life support systems are ready to sustain our astronauts on longer duration missions ahead and allow the crew to practice operations essential to the success of Artemis III and beyond.
Leaving Earth
The mission will launch a crew of four astronauts from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a Block 1 configuration of the SLS rocket. Orion will perform multiple maneuvers to raise its orbit around Earth and eventually place the crew on a lunar free return trajectory in which Earth’s gravity will naturally pull Orion back home after flying by the Moon. The Artemis II astronauts are NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The initial launch will be similar to Artemis I as SLS lofts Orion into space, and then jettisons the boosters, service module panels, and launch abort system, before the core stage engines shut down and the core stage separates from the upper stage and the spacecraft. With crew aboard this mission, Orion and the upper stage, called the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS), will then orbit Earth twice to ensure Orion’s systems are working as expected while still close to home. The spacecraft will first reach an initial orbit, flying in the shape of an ellipse, at an altitude of about 115 by 1,400 miles. The orbit will last a little over 90 minutes and will include the first firing of the ICPS to maintain Orion’s path. After the first orbit, the ICPS will raise Orion to a high-Earth orbit. This maneuver will enable the spacecraft to build up enough speed for the eventual push toward the Moon. The second, larger orbit will take approximately 23.5 hours with Orion flying in an ellipse between about 115 and 46,000 miles above Earth. For perspective, the International Space Station flies a nearly circular Earth orbit about 250 miles above our planet.
After the burn to enter high-Earth orbit, Orion will separate from the upper stage. The expended stage will have one final use before it is disposed through Earth’s atmosphere—the crew will use it as a target for a proximity operations demonstration. During the demonstration, mission controllers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will monitor Orion as the astronauts transition the spacecraft to manual mode and pilot Orion’s flight path and orientation. The crew will use Orion’s onboard cameras and the view from the spacecraft’s windows to line up with the ICPS as they approach and back away from the stage to assess Orion’s handling qualities and related hardware and software. This demonstration will provide performance data and operational experience that cannot be readily gained on the ground in preparation for critical rendezvous, proximity operations and docking, as well as undocking operations in lunar orbit beginning on Artemis III.
Checking Critical Systems
Following the proximity operations demonstration, the crew will turn control of Orion back to mission controllers at Johnson and spend the remainder of the orbit verifying spacecraft system performance in the space environment. They will remove the Orion Crew Survival System suit they wear for launch and spend the remainder of the in-space mission in plain clothes, until they don their suits again to prepare for reentry into Earth’s atmosphere and recovery from the ocean.
While still close to Earth, the crew will assess the performance of the life support systems necessary to generate breathable air and remove the carbon dioxide and water vapor produced when the astronauts breathe, talk, or exercise. The long orbital period around Earth provides an opportunity to test the systems during exercise periods, where the crew’s metabolic rate is the highest, and a sleep period, where the crew’s metabolic rate is the lowest. A change between the suit mode and cabin mode in the life support system, as well as performance of the system during exercise and sleep periods, will confirm the full range of life support system capabilities and ensure readiness for the lunar flyby portion of the mission.
Orion will also checkout the communication and navigation systems to confirm they are ready for the trip to the Moon. While still in the elliptical orbit around Earth, Orion will briefly fly beyond the range of GPS satellites and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites of NASA’s Space Network to allow an early checkout of agency’s Deep Space Network communication and navigation capabilities. When Orion travels out to and around the Moon, mission control will depend on the Deep Space Network to communicate with the astronauts, send imagery to Earth, and command the spacecraft.
After completing checkout procedures, Orion will perform the next propulsion move, called the translunar injection (TLI) burn. With the ICPS having done most of the work to put Orion into a high-Earth orbit, the service module will provide the last push needed to put Orion on a path toward the Moon. The TLI burn will send crew on an outbound trip of about four days and around the backside of the Moon where they will ultimately create a figure eight extending over 230,000 miles from Earth before Orion returns home.
To the Moon and “Free” Ride Home
On the remainder of the trip, astronauts will continue to evaluate the spacecraft’s systems, including demonstrating Earth departure and return operations, practicing emergency procedures, and testing the radiation shelter, among other activities.
The Artemis II crew will travel approximately 4,600 miles beyond the far side of the Moon. From this vantage point, they will be able to see the Earth and the Moon from Orion’s windows, with the Moon close in the foreground and the Earth nearly a quarter-million miles in the background.
With a return trip of about four days, the mission is expected to last about 10 days. Instead of requiring propulsion on the return, this fuel-efficient trajectory harnesses the Earth-Moon gravity field, ensuring that—after its trip around the far side of the Moon—Orion will be pulled back naturally by Earth’s gravity for the free return portion of the mission.
Two Missions, Two Different Trajectories
Following Artemis II, Orion and its crew will once again travel to the Moon, this time to make history when the next astronauts walk on the lunar surface. Beginning with Artemis III, missions will focus on establishing surface capabilities and building Gateway in orbit around the Moon.
Through Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before and create an enduring presence in deep space.
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA uses radio frequency (RF) for a variety of tasks in space, including communications. The Europa Clipper RF panel — the box with the copper wiring near the top — will send data carried by radio waves through the spacecraft between the electronics and eight antennas. Credit: NASA Even before we’re aware of heart trouble or related health issues, our bodies give off warning signs in the form of vibrations. Technology to detect these signals has ranged from electrodes and patches to watches. Now, an innovative wall-mounted technology is capable of monitoring vital signs. Advanced TeleSensors Inc. developed the Cardi/o Monitor with an exclusive license from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
Over the course of five years, NASA engineers created a small, inexpensive, contactless device to measure vital signs, a challenging task partly because monitoring heart rate requires picking out motions of about one three-thousandth of an inch, which are easily swamped by other movement in the environment.
By the late 1990s, hardware and computing technology could meet the challenge, and the NASA JPL team created a prototype the size of a thick textbook. It would emit a radio beam toward a stationary person, working similarly to a radar, and algorithms differentiated cardiac and respiratory activity from the “noise” of other movements.
When Sajol Ghoshal, now CEO of Austin, Texas-based Advanced TeleSensors, participated in a demonstration of the prototype, he saw the potential for in-home monitoring. By then, developing an affordable device was possible due to the miniaturization of sensors and computing technology.
The Cardi/o vital sign monitor uses NASA-developed technology to continually monitor vital signs. The data collected can be sent directly to medical care providers, cutting down on the number of home healthcare visits. Credit: Advanced TeleSensors Inc. The Cardi/o Monitor is 3 inches square and mounts to a ceiling or wall. It can detect vital signs from up to 10 feet. Multiple devices can be scattered throughout a house, with a smartphone app controlling settings and displaying all data on a single dashboard. The algorithms NASA developed detect heartbeat and respiration, and the company added heart rate variability detection that indicates stress and sleep apnea.
If there’s an anomaly, such as a dramatic heart rate increase, an alert in the app calls attention to the situation. Up to six months of data is stored in a secure cloud, making it accessible to healthcare providers. This limits the need for regular in-person visits, which is particularly important for conditions such as infectious diseases, which can put medical professionals and other patients at risk.
Through the commercialization of this life-preserving technology, NASA is at the heart of advancing health solutions.
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By NASA
After months of groundbreaking research, exploration, and teamwork aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 has returned to Earth.
NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, splashed down safely on March 18, 2025, as a pod of dolphins circled the Dragon spacecraft near Tallahassee, Florida.
NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, March 18, 2025.NASA/Keegan Barber Williams and Wilmore made history as the first humans to fly aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft during NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT). Launched June 5, 2024, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the CFT mission was Boeing’s first crewed flight.
Hague and Gorbunov launched to the space station on Sept. 28, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 members pose together for a portrait inside the International Space Station’s Unity module. From left, are NASA astronaut Suni Williams, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, and NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore.NASA During their long-duration mission, the American crew members conducted more than 150 unique experiments and logged over 900 hours of research aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Their work included studying plant growth and development, testing stem cell technology for patient care on Earth, and examining how spaceflight affects materials—insights vital for future deep space missions.
The crew kicked off 2025 with two spacewalks that included removing an antenna assembly from the station’s truss, collecting microbial samples from the orbital outpost’s exterior for analysis by Johnson’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science division, installing patches to cover damaged areas of light filters on an X-ray telescope, and more.
Williams now holds the record for the most cumulative spacewalking time by a woman — 62 hours and 6 minutes — placing her fourth among the most experienced spacewalkers in history.
While in orbit, the crew also engaged the next generation through 30 ham radio events with students around the world and supported a student-led genetic experiment.
As part of the CFT, Williams and Wilmore commanded Starliner during in-flight testing and were the first to see the spacecraft integrated in simulations and operate it hands-on in space, evaluating systems like maneuvering, docking, and emergency protocols.
“We’ve learned a lot about systems integrated testing that will pay benefits going forward and lay the groundwork for future missions,” said Wilmore.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore participate in an emergency operations simulation in the Boeing Starliner simulator at Johnson Space Center in Houston.NASA/Robert Markowitz Following the test flight, NASA and Boeing are continuing work toward crew certification of the company’s CST-100 Starliner system. Joint teams are addressing in-flight anomalies and preparing for propulsion system testing ahead of the next mission.
Despite the unexpected challenges, including technical issues with the Starliner spacecraft that extended their mission, both Wilmore and Williams said they would do it all over again. Wilmore emphasized his gratitude in being part of testing Starliner’s capabilities, stating, “I’d get on it in a heartbeat.”
After returning to Earth, the crew received a warm welcome from family, colleagues, and fellow astronauts at Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field. They were greeted by Johnson Acting Director Steve Koerner, who applauded their dedication and resilience.
Suni Williams is greeted by Johnson Acting Director Steve Koerner at Ellington Field in Houston after completing a long-duration science mission aboard the International Space Station.NASA/Robert Markowitz Williams shared a heartfelt embrace with astronaut Zena Cardman, thanking her for “taking one for the team.” Cardman had originally been assigned to Crew-9, but in August, NASA announced the uncrewed return of Starliner to Earth and integrated Wilmore and Williams into Expedition 71/72 for a return on Crew-9. This adjustment meant Cardman and astronaut Stephanie Wilson would no longer fly the mission—a decision that underscored the flexibility and teamwork essential to human spaceflight.
Cardman is now assigned as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, set to launch in the coming months to the International Space Station for a long-duration science expedition.
Butch Wilmore receives a warm welcome from NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Woody Hoburg at Ellington Field.NASA/Robert Markowitz Williams and Wilmore each brought decades of experience to the mission. Wilmore, a retired U.S. Navy captain and veteran fighter pilot, has logged 464 days in space over three flights. Outside of NASA, he serves as a pastor, leads Bible studies, and participates in mission trips across Central and South America. A skilled craftsman, he also builds furniture and other pieces for his local church.
Growing up in Tennessee, Wilmore says his faith continues to guide him, especially when navigating the uncertainties of flight.
Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore works inside the International Space Station’s Columbus laboratory module to install the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device.NASA Wilmore encourages the next generation with a call to action: “Strap on your work hat and let’s go at it!” He emphasizes that tenacity and perseverance are essential for achieving anything of value. Motivated by a sense of patriotic duty and a desire to help those in need, Wilmore sees his astronaut role as a commitment to both his country and humanity at large.
Wilmore believes he’s challenged every day at NASA. “Doing the right things for the right reasons is what motivates me,” he said.
Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams monitors an Astrobee robotic free-flyer outfitted with tentacle-like arms containing gecko-like adhesive pads preparing to grapple a “capture cube.”NASA A retired U.S. Navy captain and veteran of three spaceflights, Williams is a helicopter pilot, basic diving officer, and the first person to run the Boston Marathon in space—once in 2007, and again aboard the station in 2025. Originally from Needham, Massachusetts, she brings a lifelong spirit of adventure and service to everything she does.
“There are no limits,” said Williams. “Your imagination can make something happen, but it’s not always easy. There are so many cool things we can invent to solve problems—and that’s one of the joys of working in the space program. It makes you ask questions.”
Hague, a Kansas native, has logged a total of 374 days in space across three missions. A U.S. Space Force colonel and test pilot, he’s served in roles across the country and abroad, including a deployment to Iraq.
“When we’re up there operating in space, it’s focused strictly on mission,” said Hague. “We are part of an international team that spans the globe and works with half a dozen mission control centers that are talking in multiple languages — and we figure out how to make it happen. That’s the magic of human spaceflight: it brings people together.”
Expedition 72 Pilot Nick Hague inside the cupola with space botany hardware that supports the Rhodium Plant LIFE investigation.NASA For Williams, Wilmore, Hague, Gorbunov, and the team supporting them, Crew-9 marks the beginning of a new era of space exploration — one driven by innovation, perseverance, and the unyielding dream of reaching beyond the stars.
Watch the full press conference following the crew’s return to Earth here.
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By NASA
6 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Risks Concept Risk is inherent in human spaceflight. However, specific risks can and should be understood, managed, and mitigated to reduce threats posed to astronauts. Risk management in the context of human spaceflight can be viewed as a trade-based system. The relevant evidence in life sciences, medicine, and engineering is tracked and evaluated to identify ways to minimize overall risk to the astronauts and to ensure mission success. The Human System Risk Board (HSRB) manages the process by which scientific evidence is utilized to establish and reassess the postures of the various risks to the Human System during all of the various types of existing or anticipated crewed missions. The HSRB operates as part of the Health and Medical Technical Authority of the Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer of NASA via the JSC Chief Medical Officer.
The HSRB approaches to human system risks is analogous to the approach the engineering profession takes with its Failure Mode and Effects Analysis in that a process is utilized to identify and address potential problems, or failures to reduce their likelihood and severity. In the context of risks to the human system, the HSRB considers eight missions which different in their destinations and durations (known as Design Reference Missions [DRM]) to further refine the context of the risks. With each DRM a likelihood and consequence are assigned to each risk which is adjusted scientific evidence is accumulated and understanding of the risk is enhanced, and mitigations become available or are advanced.
Human System Risks This framework enables the principles of Continuous Risk Management and Risk Informed Decision Making (RIDM) to be applied in an ongoing fashion to the challenges posed by Human System Risks. Using this framework consistently across the 29 risks allows management to see where risks need additional research or technology development to be mitigated or monitored and for the identification of new risks and concerns. Further information on the implementation of the risk management process can be found in the following documents:
Human System Risk Management Plan – JSC-66705 NASA Health and Medical Technical Authority (HMTA) Implementation – NPR 7120.11A NASA Space Flight Program and Project Management Requirements – NPR 7120.5 Human System Risk Board Management Office
The HSRB Risk Management Office governs the execution of the Human System Risk management process in support of the HSRB. It is led by the HSRB Chair, who is also referred to as the Risk Manager.
Risk Custodian Teams
Along with the Human System Risk Manager, a team of risk custodians (a researcher, an operational researcher or physician, and an epidemiologist, who each have specific expertise) works together to understand and synthesize scientific and operational evidence in the context of spaceflight, identify and evaluate metrics for each risk in order to communicate the risk posture to the agency.
Directed Acyclic Graphs
Summary
The HSRB uses Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAG), a type of causal diagramming, as visual tools to create a shared understanding of the risks, improve communication among those stakeholders, and enable the creation of a composite risk network that is vetted by members of the NASA community and configuration managed (Antonsen et al., NASA/TM– 20220006812). The knowledge captured is the Human Health and Performance community’s knowledge about the causal flow of a human system risk, and the relationships that exist between the contributing factors to that risk.
DAGs are:
Intended to improve communication between: Managers and subject matter experts who need to discuss human system risks Subject matter experts in different disciplines where human system risks interact with one another in a potentially cumulative fashion Visual representations of known or suspected relationships Directed – the relationship flows in one direction between any two nodes Acyclic – cycles in the graph are not allowed Example of a Directed Acyclic Graph. This is a simplified illustration of how and the individual, the crew, and the system contribute to the likelihood of successful task performance in a mission. Individual readiness is affected by many of the health and performance-oriented risks followed by the HSRB, but the readiness of any individual crew is complemented by the team and the system that the crew works within. Failures of task performance may lead to loss of mission objectives if severe.NASA View Larger (Example of a Directed Acyclic Graph) Image
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At NASA, the Human System Risks have historically been conceptualized as deriving from five Hazards present in the spaceflight environment. These are: altered gravity, isolation and confinement, radiation, a hostile closed environment, and distance from Earth. These Hazards are aspects of the spaceflight environment that are encountered when someone is launched into space and therefore are the starting point for causal diagramming of spaceflight-related risk issues for the HSRB.
These Hazards are often interpreted in relation to physiologic changes that occur in humans as a result of the exposure; however, interaction between human crew (behavioral health and performance), which may be degraded due to the spaceflight environment – and the vehicle and mission systems that the crew must operate – can also be influenced by these Hazards.
Each Human System Risk DAG is intended to show the causal flow of risk from Hazards to Mission Level Outcomes. As such, the structure of each DAG starts with at least one Hazard and ends with at least one of the pre-defined Mission Level Outcomes. In between are the nodes and edges of the causal flow diagrams that are relevant to the Risk under consideration. These are called ‘contributing factors’ in the HSRB terminology, and include countermeasures, medical conditions, and other Human System Risks. A graph data structure is composed of a set of vertices (nodes), and a set of edges (links). Each edge represents a relationship between two nodes. There can be two types of relationships between nodes: directed and undirected. For example, if an edge exists between two nodes A and B and the edge is undirected, it is represented as A–B, (no arrow). If the edge were directed, for example from A to B, then this is represented with an arrow (A->B). Each directed arrow connecting one node to another on a DAG indicates a claim of causality. A directed graph can potentially contain a cycle, meaning that, from a specific node, there exists a path that would eventually return to that node. A directed graph that has no cycles is known as acyclic. Thus, a graph with directed links and no cycles is a DAG. DAGs are a type of network diagram that represent causality in a visual format.
DAGs are updated with the regular Human System Risk updates generally every 1-2 years. Approved DAGs can be found in the NASA/TP 20220015709 below or broken down under each Human System Risk.
Documents
Directed Acyclic Graph Guidance Documentation – NASA/TM 20220006812 Directed Acyclic Graphs: A Tool for Understanding the NASA Human Spaceflight System Risks – NASA/TP 20220015709 Publications
npj Microgravity – Causal diagramming for assessing human
system risk in spaceflight
Apr 22, 2024
PDF (3.09 MB)
npj Microgravity –
Levels of evidence for human system risk
evaluation
Apr 22, 2024
PDF (2.47 MB)
npj Microgravity –
Updates to the NASA human system risk management process
for space exploration
Apr 22, 2024
PDF (2.24 MB)
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Last Updated Mar 11, 2025 EditorRobert E. LewisLocationJohnson Space Center Related Terms
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