ISS: Expedition 74

Expedition 74 began with undocking of Soyuz MS-27 on Dezember 09, 2025 at 01:41:30 UTC.

The initial revelation, which was first described by the agency as a "medical concern," caused NASA to announce on January 07, 2026 evening that it was postponing the first spacewalk of 2026 from the ISS. Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman had been scheduled to venture outside the station on January 08, 2026 morning.
A spacewalk on January 08, 2026 was slated to have Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman perform a variety of operations around the orbiting outpost during the roughly 6.5-hour-long event. A new date for the spacewalk hasn't been announced.
NASA is weighing whether it may need to call for an earlier end the SpaceX Crew-11 mission on the International Space Station after a "medical situation".

After discussions with Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. J.D. Polk and leadership across the agency, NASA came to the decision that it’s in the best interest of our astronauts to return SpaceX Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure (in late February 2026).

On Janaury 12, 2026 the station command changed from US astronaut Michael Fincke to Russian cosmonaut Sergei Kud-Sverchkov.

SpaceX Crew-11 with Zena Cardman, Michael Fincke, Kimiya Yui and Oleg Platonov undocked on January 14, 2026 at 22:05 UTC and splashed down on January 15, 2026 off the coast of California.

On February 14, 2026 at 20:15 UTC SpaceX Crew-12 docked to the International Space Station. Jessica Meir, Christopher Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrei Fedyayev became members of Expedition 74.

The Dragon spacecraft SpX-33 or CRS-33 autonomously undocked from the Harmony module's forward-facing port on February 26, 2026 at 17:05 UTC and fired its thrusters to move safely away from the space station. Splashdown was on February 27, 2026 at 07:44 UTC off the coast of California.
Several scientific investigations are returning aboard Dragon, offering insights that could help shape future space exploration and life on Earth. The Euro Material Ageing study exposed 141 samples to space for a year to examine how coatings, insulation, and 3D-printed materials degrade, while Thailand's Liquid Crystals experiment observed the stability of films used in electronics in microgravity. Both could lead to stronger spacecraft, better displays, and improved optical devices on future missions.
Frozen samples from the Stellar Stem Cells Mission 2 experiment are helping study how microgravity affects brain and heart stem cell growth, which could improve treatments for diseases such as ALS and Parkinson's disease. The SpaceDuino project is paving the way for more low-cost instruments after successfully measuring vibrations using a commercially available single-board computer and open-source software. The Moon Microscope also successfully tested a portable diagnostic kit for blood analysis in space that could support future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The Dragon spacecraft supporting the mission also introduced a new capability to reboost the space station, helping maintain its altitude and counter atmospheric drag, which is critical for safe operations and the long-term sustainability of the orbital complex. During its time docked to the station, Dragon performed six reboosts - five in 2025 and a final maneuver on January 23, 2026 - before preparations for its departure began.

After delivering about 12,000 pounds (5440 kilograms) of supplies, scientific investigations, hardware, and other cargo to the International Space Station for NASA and its international partners, JAXA's (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's) uncrewed HTV X1 cargo spacecraft departed on March 06, 2026 at 17:00 UTC.
On March 05, 2026 at 19:26 UTC flight controllers used the space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach HTV-X1 from the Harmony module's Earth-facing port on the station and maneuver it into position for release. Chris Williams monitored HTV-X1's systems during undocking and departure. The HTV-X1 spacecraft will remain in orbit for more than three months acting as a scientific platform for JAXA's experiments. Following the deorbit command, the spacecraft will dispose of several thousand pounds of trash during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, where it will burn up harmlessly.

After delivering more than 11,000 pounds (4989 kilograms) of supplies, science investigations, hardware, and other cargo to the International Space Station for NASA and its international partners, the Cygnus XL spacecraft ("S.S. William "Willie" C. McCool") supporting Northrop Grumman's 23^rd Commercial Resupply Services mission departed the orbiting laboratory on March 12, 2026 at 11.06 UTC.
Flight controllers on the ground sent commands for the space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach the Cygnus XL spacecraft from the Unity module's Earth facing port and maneuver it into position for release Sophie Adenot monitored Cygnus' systems as it departs.
Cygnus XL will be commanded to deorbit on March 14, 2026 to dispose of several thousand pounds of trash during its reentry into Earth's atmosphere, where it will harmlessly burn up.

The Progress MS-31 cargo spaceship undocked from the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) from the Poisk module at about 13:24 UTC on March 16, 2026.
The freighter turned on its thrusters for braking at about 16:42 UTC to begin descent from the ISS orbit and enter the Earth's atmosphere. Most of the spacecraft will burn up in the dense layers of the atmosphere, while its non-combustible parts will splash down into the South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area and sink.

On March 18, 2026 Jessica Meir and Christopher Williams performed the first spacewalk in this Expedition 74 (7h 02m). They exited the station's Quest airlock to prepare the 2A power channel for future installation of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays. Once installed, the array will provide additional power for the orbital laboratory, including critical support of its safe and controlled deorbit.

The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress MS-33 resupply spacecraft launched at 11:59:51.292 UTC on March 22, 2026 on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
After a two-day trip to the space station, the spacecraft docked due to the malfunction of one of the two KURS antennas manually to the Poisk module's space-facing port at about 13:40:44 UTC on March 24, 2026.
The Progress MS-33 spacecraft will remain docked to the orbiting laboratory for about six months before departing for a destructive re-entry into Earth's atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew.