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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
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s C-130, now under new ownership, sits ready for its final departure from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, on Friday, April 18, 2025. NASA/Garon Clark NASA’s C-130 Hercules, fondly known as the Herc, went wheels up at 9:45 a.m., Friday, April 18, as it departed from its decade-long home at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, for the final time. The aircraft is embarking on a new adventure to serve and protect in the state of California where it is now under the ownership of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
The transition of the C-130 to CAL FIRE is part of a long-running, NASA-wide aircraft enterprise-management activity to consolidate the aircraft fleet and achieve greater operational efficiencies while reducing the agency’s infrastructure footprint.
The C-130 Hercules takes off for the final time from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.NASA/Garon Clark “Our C-130 and the team behind it has served with great distinction over the past decade,” said David L. Pierce, Wallops Flight Facility director. “While our time with this amazing airframe has come to a close, I’m happy to see it continue serving the nation in this new capacity with CAL FIRE.”
The research and cargo aircraft, built in 1986, was acquired by NASA in 2015. Over the past decade, the C-130 supported the agency’s airborne scientific research, provided logistics support and movement of agency cargo, and supported technology demonstration missions. The aircraft logged approximately 1,820 flight hours in support of missions across the world during its time with the agency.
Additional aircraft housed at NASA Wallops will be relocated to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, in the coming months.
For more information on NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, visit: www.nasa.gov/wallops.
By Olivia Littleton
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
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Last Updated Apr 18, 2025 EditorOlivia F. LittletonLocationWallops Flight Facility Related Terms
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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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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, on the company’s 29th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station.SpaceX NASA invites the public to participate in virtual activities ahead of the launch of SpaceX’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission for the agency. NASA and SpaceX are targeting launch at 4:15 a.m. EDT Monday, April 21, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In addition to food, supplies, and equipment for the crew, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will deliver several new experiments, including a demonstration of refined maneuvers for free-floating robots. Dragon also carries an enhanced air quality monitoring system that could 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 worldwide synchronization of precision timepieces.
The public can register to be virtual launch guests and receive curated mission resources, interactive opportunities, timely launch updates, and a mission-specific collectible stamp for their virtual guest passports delivered straight to their inbox after liftoff.
A new way to collect and share passport stamps has arrived! Receive one for your virtual guest passport and another that is sized perfectly for sharing. Don’t have a passport yet? Print one here and start collecting!
Learn more about NASA research and activities on the International Space Station at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station.
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Last Updated Apr 16, 2025 EditorJason Costa Related Terms
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