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NASA Invites Media to Next SpaceX Resupply Launch to Space Station
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By NASA
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:15 a.m. EDT on April 21 2025, on the company’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station.Credit: NASA Following the successful launch of NASA’s SpaceX 32nd Commercial Resupply Services mission, new scientific experiments and supplies are bound for the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying approximately 6,700 pounds of cargo to the orbiting laboratory for NASA, lifted off at 4:15 a.m. EDT Monday, on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival will begin at 6:45 a.m., Tuesday, April 22, on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms.
The spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously dock at approximately 8:20 a.m. to the zenith, or space-facing, port of the space station’s Harmony module.
The resupply mission will support dozens of research experiments during Expedition 73. Along with food and essential equipment for the crew, Dragon is delivering a variety of science experiments, including a demonstration of refined maneuvers for free-floating robots. Dragon also carries an enhanced air quality monitoring system that could help protect crew members on exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and two atomic clocks to examine fundamental physics concepts, such as relativity, and test global synchronization of precision timepieces.
These are just a sample of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory each year in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Such research benefits humanity and helps lay the groundwork for future human exploration through the agency’s Artemis campaign, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future missions to Mars.
The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the orbiting laboratory until May, when it will depart and return to Earth with time-sensitive research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of California.
Learn more about the commercial resupply mission at:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/nasas-spacex-crs-32/
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Julian Coltre / Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Stephanie Plucinsky / Steven Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-876-2468
stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov / steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Apr 21, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
International Space Station (ISS) Commercial Resupply ISS Research Johnson Space Center Kennedy Space Center SpaceX Commercial Resupply View the full article
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By NASA
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 72 NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner aboard, April 19, 2025 (April 20, 2025, Kazakhstan time). The trio are returning to Earth after logging 220 days in space as members of Expeditions 71 and 72 aboard the International Space Station.NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth Saturday, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, concluding a seven-month science mission aboard the International Space Station.
The trio departed the space station at 5:57 p.m. EDT aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft before making a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 9:20 p.m. (6:20 a.m. on Sunday, April 20, Kazakhstan time), southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. Pettit also celebrates his 70th birthday on Sunday, April 20.
Spanning 220 days in space, Pettit and his crewmates orbited the Earth 3,520 times, completing a journey of 93.3 million miles. Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner launched and docked to the orbiting laboratory on Sept. 11, 2024.
During his time aboard the space station, Pettit conducted research to enhance in-orbit metal 3D printing capabilities, advance water sanitization technologies, explore plant growth under varying water conditions, and investigate fire behavior in microgravity, all contributing to future space missions. He also used his surroundings aboard station to conduct unique experiments in his spare time and captivate the public with his photography.
This was Pettit’s fourth spaceflight, where he served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 71 and 72. He has logged 590 days in orbit throughout his career. Ovchinin completed his fourth flight, totaling 595 days, and Vagner has earned an overall total of 416 days in space during two spaceflights.
NASA is following its routine postlanding medical checks, the crew will return to the recovery staging area in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Pettit will then board a NASA plane bound for the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. According to NASA officials at the landing site, Pettit is doing well and in the range of what is expected for him following return to Earth.
For more than two decades, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a strong low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing more resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of Artemis in preparation for future astronaut missions to Mars.
Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
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Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Apr 19, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 72 Humans in Space ISS Research View the full article
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By NASA
NASA astronauts work to retrieve batteries and adapter plates from an external pallet during a spacewalk to upgrade the International Space Station’s power storage capacity.Credit: NASA Two NASA astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station, conducting U.S. spacewalk 93 on Thursday, May 1, to complete station upgrades.
NASA will preview the upcoming spacewalk during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 24, on the agency’s website from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
Participants in the news conference include:
Bill Spetch, operations integration manager, International Space Station Program Diana Trujillo, spacewalk flight director, NASA Johnson Media interested in participating in person or by phone must contact the Johnson newsroom no later than 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 23, at: 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. To ask questions, media must dial in no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the news conference. Questions also may be submitted on social media using #AskNASA.
The spacewalk is scheduled to last about six and a half hours. NASA will provide additional information, including live NASA+ coverage details, when available.
NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers will relocate a space station communications antennae and install a mounting bracket ahead of the installation of an additional set of International Space Station Rollout Solar Arrays, also called IROSA. The arrays will boost power generation capability by up to 30%, increasing the station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts. The arrays will be installed on a future spacewalk following their arrival on a SpaceX Dragon commercial resupply services mission later this year.
McClain will serve as spacewalk crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Ayers will serve as spacewalk crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. This will be the third spacewalk for McClain and the first for Ayers. U.S. spacewalk 93 will be the 275th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
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Josh Finch / Claire O’Shea
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / claire.a.oshea@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Apr 18, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
International Space Station (ISS) Humans in Space ISS Research Johnson Space Center View the full article
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By NASA
NASA researchers are sending three air quality monitors to the International Space Station to test them for potential future use on the Moon.Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna As NASA prepares to return to the Moon, studying astronaut health and safety is a top priority. Scientists monitor and analyze every part of the International Space Station crew’s daily life—down to the air they breathe. These studies are helping NASA prepare for long-term human exploration of the Moon and, eventually, Mars.
As part of this effort, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is sending three air quality monitors to the space station to test them for potential future use on the Moon. The monitors are slated to launch on Monday, April 21, aboard the 32nd SpaceX commercial resupply services mission for NASA.
Like our homes here on Earth, the space station gets dusty from skin flakes, clothing fibers, and personal care products like deodorant. Because the station operates in microgravity, particles do not have an opportunity to settle and instead remain floating in the air. Filters aboard the orbiting laboratory collect these particles to ensure the air remains safe and breathable.
Astronauts will face another air quality risk when they work and live on the Moon—lunar dust.
“From Apollo, we know lunar dust can cause irritation when breathed into the lungs,” said Claire Fortenberry, principal investigator, Exploration Aerosol Monitors project, NASA Glenn. “Earth has weather to naturally smooth dust particles down, but there is no atmosphere on the Moon, so lunar dust particles are sharper and craggier than Earth dust. Lunar dust could potentially impact crew health and damage hardware.”
Future space stations and lunar habitats will need monitors capable of measuring lunar dust to ensure air filtration systems are functioning properly. Fortenberry and her team selected commercially available monitors for flight and ground demonstration to evaluate their performance in a spacecraft environment, with the goal of providing a dust monitor for future exploration systems.
NASA Glenn Research Center’s Claire Fortenberry holds a dust sample collected from International Space Station air filters.Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna Glenn is sending three commercial monitors to the space station to test onboard air quality for seven months. All three monitors are small: no bigger than a shoe box. Each one measures a specific property that provides a snapshot of the air quality aboard the station. Researchers will analyze the monitors based on weight, functionality, and ability to accurately measure and identify small concentrations of particles in the air.
The research team will receive data from the space station every two weeks. While those monitors are orbiting Earth, Fortenberry will have three matching monitors at Glenn. Engineers will compare functionality and results from the monitors used in space to those on the ground to verify they are working as expected in microgravity. Additional ground testing will involve dust simulants and smoke.
Air quality monitors like the ones NASA is testing also have Earth-based applications. The monitors are used to investigate smoke plumes from wildfires, haze from urban pollution, indoor pollution from activities like cooking and cleaning, and how virus-containing droplets spread within an enclosed space.
Results from the investigation will help NASA evaluate which monitors could accompany astronauts to the Moon and eventually Mars. NASA will allow the manufacturers to review results and ensure the monitors work as efficiently and effectively as possible. Testing aboard the space station could help companies investigate pollution problems here on Earth and pave the way for future missions to the Red Planet.
NASA Glenn Research Center’s Claire Fortenberry demonstrates how space aerosol monitors analyze the quality of the air.Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna “Going to the Moon gives us a chance to monitor for planetary dust and the lunar environment,” Fortenberry said. “We can then apply what we learn from lunar exploration to predict how humans can safely explore Mars.”
NASA commercial resupply missions to the International Space Station deliver scientific investigations in the areas of biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, physical sciences, and technology development and demonstrations. Cargo resupply from U.S. companies ensures a national capability to deliver scientific research to the space station, significantly increasing NASA’s ability to conduct new investigations aboard humanity’s laboratory in space.
Learn more about NASA and SpaceX’s 32nd commercial resupply mission to the space station:
https://www.nasa.gov/nasas-spacex-crs-32/
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Robotics teams gather on the main floor of the 2025 Aerospace Valley FIRST Robotics Competition at Eastside High School in Lancaster, California, adjusting and testing the functions of their robots, on April 3, 2025NASA/Genaro Vavuris A group of attendees to the 2025 Aerospace Valley FIRST Robotics Competition gather outside Eastside High School’s gymnasium in Lancaster, California, to watch an F/A-18 from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Edwards, California, fly over the school to kick off the competition, on April 3, 2025.NASA/Genaro Vavuris Jose Vasquez, engineering technician at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, California, machines parts for a robot inside NASA’s mobile machine shop at the 2025 Aerospace Valley FIRST Robotics Competition in Lancaster, California, on April 3, 2025.NASA/Genaro Vavuris Students from Eagle Robotics, Team 399, supported by volunteers from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, adjust their robot during the 2025 Aerospace Valley FIRST Robotics Competition in Lancaster, California, on April 3, 2025.NASA/Genaro Vavuris When young minds come together to test their knowledge and creativity in technology and innovation, the results are truly inspiring. In its sixth year, Aerospace Valley Regional FIRST Robotics Competition at East High School in Lancaster, California, proved to be another success. During three action-packed days, hundreds of students from around the world showcased their skills in building and programming robots designed to tackle real-world challenges. Volunteers from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, played a key role, mentoring students and sharing expertise to guide the next generation of engineers.
The Aerospace Valley Regional was started with NASA’s support through the Robotics Alliance Project, which has helped expand robotics programs nationwide. As part of the project, NASA Armstrong supports five local teams and fosters innovation and mentorship for young minds. “It’s more than just a game – it’s a launchpad for future innovators,” said David Voracek, NASA Armstrong’s chief technologist, who has volunteered for 20 years and is the primary logistics manager.
Brad Flick, NASA Armstrong center director, toured the venue and talked to students, highlighting NASA’s continued commitment to inspiring the next generation of engineers and innovators. The event kicked off with an exciting F/A-18 flyover by NASA Armstrong research test pilots Nils Larson and James Less.
Throughout the competition, NASA volunteers – judges, scorers, and machinists – offered guidance and ensured smooth operations. The mobile shop supported students by repairing and fabricating parts for their robots, completing 79 jobs during the event. “Almost everything we do needs to get done in minutes,” says Jose Vasquez, volunteer, and engineering technician at NASA Armstrong’s fabrication lab, who volunteered at the event.
Beyond the competition, students engaged with industry professionals and explored career opportunities. “They don’t just build robots; they build confidence, resilience, and real-world skills alongside mentors who inspire them and volunteers who make it all possible,” Voracek said. This event showcased the talent, determination, and creativity that will shape the future of technology and innovation.
NASA’s Robotics Alliance Project provides grants for high school teams across the country and supports FIRST Robotics competitions, encouraging students to pursue STEM careers.
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Last Updated Apr 17, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactPriscila Valdezpriscila.valdez@nasa.gov Related Terms
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