Expedition 73 thread

[ddspaceman]

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Training Resource Reel

[ddspaceman]

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim Training Resource Reel

[ddspaceman]

Jonny Kim
@JonnyKimUSA
Back in Star City, for the final time. I'm here at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) with my Soyuz crew mates, Alexei and Sergei, completing our final training and qualification sims before entering quarantine for our upcoming launch on April 8th.

It will be 9 months before I’m back home in Houston. It was hard to say goodbye to my family, and even harder to communicate to my kids why I have to be gone for so long. But I think it’s important to show kids that working towards something you believe in is important and sometimes requires sacrifices. The last time I was on a long deployment I didn't have kids, so this entire experience makes me appreciate the men and women of our service branches, and the public servants that sacrifice so much on behalf of others.

I will miss my wife and kids, and a lot of things in no particular order … gaming with the family, morning PT with the boys, being a girl dad, cooking the kid’s favorites: tacos and SoCal inspired burgers (iykyk), answering hundreds of “Appa, who would win in a fight …” questions, and Peppa, our beloved rescue (see shameless dog pic). My family says there is a >0% chance there will be a “George” when I return.

I wouldn’t be where I am today without my family. And I also wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for my E73 crew mates (Sergei, Alexei, Anne, Tak, Nichole, Kirill), our amazing instructors, engineers, mentors, flight controllers, international partners, and numerous other people I can’t fit in these margins to get us ready for the expedition. I’ll do my best to share some of these training stories that led us here in the coming weeks.

But as challenging as the next 9 months will be, my wife will have it at least 2x harder. Thanks hun, I can’t do this without you.

https://twitter.com/JonnyKimUSA/status/1898098572857315832

[ddspaceman]

cross post

NASA Space Operations
@NASASpaceOps
.@NASA will provide interview opportunities with astronaut Jonny Kim beginning at 9 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, March 18, to highlight his upcoming mission to the @Space_Station in April. The virtual interviews from Star City, Russia, will stream live on NASA+.

Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-astronaut-jonny-kim-to-discuss-upcoming-launch-mission/

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceOps/status/1899569548720013460

[ddspaceman]

Cross-post

Interviews with Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim – Wednesday, March 19, 2025

[ddspaceman]

Cross-post:

NASA's Johnson Space Center
@NASA_Johnson
The Pursuit of Lifelong Learning.

On this week’s #HWHAP, NASA astronaut @JonnyKimUSA discusses his upcoming mission to the International @Space_Station, his experience in the military and medical field, and his journey to becoming a @NASA_Astronauts. https://go.nasa.gov/3DYmtKU

https://twitter.com/NASA_Johnson/status/1905665244975841718

[ddspaceman]

NASA Sets Coverage for Crew Launch to Join Station Expedition 72/73

Tiernan P. Doyle
Apr 02, 2025

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft to the International Space Station, accompanied by cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, where they will join the Expedition 72/73 crew in advancing scientific research.

Kim, Ryzhikov, and Zubritsky will lift off at 1:47 a.m. EDT Tuesday, April 8 (10:47 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Watch live launch and docking coverage on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms.

After a two-orbit, three-hour trajectory to the station, the spacecraft will dock automatically to the station’s Prichal module at approximately 5:03 a.m. Shortly after, hatches will open between Soyuz and the space station.

Once aboard, the trio will join NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain, and Don Pettit, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, Kirill Peskov, and Ivan Vagner.

NASA’s coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Tuesday, April 8

12:45 a.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+.

1:47 a.m. – Launch

4:15 a.m. – Rendezvous and docking coverage begins on NASA+.

5:03 a.m. – Docking

7 a.m. – Hatch opening and welcome remarks coverage begins on NASA+.

7:20 a.m. – Hatch opening

The trio will spend approximately eight months aboard the orbital laboratory as Expedition 72 and 73 crew members before returning to Earth in December. This will be the first flight for Kim and Zubritsky, and the third for Ryzhikov.

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 robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing more resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign in preparation for future human missions to Mars.

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-crew-launch-to-join-station-expedition-72-73/


The Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station with (pictured left to right) NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky.
Credit: Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

[Galacic01]

Are there any American EVAs planned during the mission?

[Delta7]

Tentatively US EVAs 93 and 94 are scheduled for the 2nd quarter of this year.

[ddspaceman]

International Space Station
@Space_Station
The Soyuz MS-27 rocket stands at its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It will lift off at 1:47am ET on Tuesday carrying @NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhigin and Alexey Zubritskiy to the orbital lab. More... https://go.nasa.gov/4jemhWK

https://twitter.com/Space_Station/status/1908561853191794772

[Galacic01]

Expedition 73 will end in December with the departure of MS-27 or in July with the departure of Crew-11?

[ddspaceman]

Expedition 73 will end in December with the departure of MS-27 or in July with the departure of Crew-11?

Expeditions always end/start with the departure of the Soyuz

[ddspaceman]

NASA HQ PHOTO
@nasahqphoto
Check out photos from the Expedition 73 State Commission & Press Conference with NASA astronaut @JonnyKimUSA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritskiy. They are scheduled to launch tomorrow, April 8 to @Space_Station 📷 https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC7PgC

https://twitter.com/nasahqphoto/status/1909265257513525311

[ddspaceman]

ISS Research
@ISS_Research
As a physician, @JonnyKimUSA brings his expertise of health research to space. He’ll work on CIPHER, a study tracking physiological and psychological changes during missions. Results help researchers understand how microgravity affects the body. More: http://go.nasa.gov/4cfHoFP

Watch on @NASA+ tomorrow, April 8, at 12:45 am ET: https://plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-video/soyuz-ms-27-launch-with-jonny-kim/

https://twitter.com/ISS_Research/status/1909267170120421841

[ddspaceman]

Col. Mike Fincke
@AstroIronMike
Watching the Soyuz MS-27 launch with my Crew-11 crewmates.  Go Jonny, Sergei and Alexei.   Hope to join you on the @Space_Station soon.   Godspeed and Ad Astra!

https://twitter.com/AstroIronMike/status/1909482133317730740

[ddspaceman]

Scott Parazynski
@AstroDocScott
You really need to meet my friend @JonnyKimUSA - a humble, resilient, highly intelligent American hero... and likely The Most Interesting Man in the World. #NavySEAL, #physician, helicopter #pilot and now an #astronaut aboard the #ISS. Stay thirsty my friends! https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/jonny-kim-nasa-astronaut-navy-seal-harvard-doctor-nasa-astronaut-7ad0e523?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

https://twitter.com/AstroDocScott/status/1910062158152622522

[ddspaceman]

ISS Research
@ISS_Research
Packing up science for @Space_Station. 🚀

@NASA’s 32nd SpaceX resupply mission is to bring new experiments. From testing vision-based sensors for navigation to air quality monitors, this research could lead to discoveries benefiting humanity. More: http://go.nasa.gov/4cqBYbp

https://twitter.com/ISS_Research/status/1910335711221584257

NASA’s SpaceX 32nd Resupply Mission Launches New Research to Station

Melissa L. Gaskill
International Space Station Research Communications Team

NASA and SpaceX are launching the company’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station later this month, bringing a host of new research to the orbiting laboratory. Aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft are experiments focused on vision-based navigation, spacecraft air quality, materials for drug and product manufacturing, and advancing plant growth with less reliance on photosynthesis.

This and other research conducted aboard the space station advances future space exploration, including missions to the Moon and Mars, and provides many benefits to humanity.

Investigations traveling to the space station include:

Robotic spacecraft guidance

Smartphone Video Guidance Sensor-2 (SVGS-2) uses the space station’s Astrobee robots to demonstrate using a vision-based sensor developed by NASA to control a formation flight of small satellites. Based on a previous in-space demonstration of the technology, this investigation is designed to refine the maneuvers of multiple robots and integrate the information with spacecraft systems.

Potential benefits of this technology include improved accuracy and reliability of systems for guidance, navigation, and control that could be applied to docking crewed spacecraft in orbit and remotely operating multiple robots on the lunar or Martian surface.
Two cube-shaped robots each about the size of a small suitcase, one green and one blue, float in the middle of a module on the space station. Below them are white storage bags and behind them a wall covered with equipment, laptops, cords, and wires. A black device mounted on the wall at the left of the image has four bright blue lights.

Protection from particles

During spaceflight, especially long-duration missions, concentrations of airborne particles must be kept within ranges safe for crew health and hardware performance. The Aerosol Monitors investigation tests three different air quality monitors in space to determine which is best suited to protect crew health and ensure mission success. The investigation also tests a device for distinguishing between smoke and dust. Aboard the space station, the presence of dust can cause false smoke alarms that require crew member response. Reducing false alarms could save valuable crew time while continuing to protect astronaut safety.

Better materials, better drugs

The DNA Nano Therapeutics-Mission 2 produces a special type of molecule formed by DNA-inspired, customizable building blocks known as Janus base nanomaterials. It also evaluates how well the materials reduce joint inflammation and whether they can help regenerate cartilage lost due to arthritis. These materials are less toxic, more stable, and more compatible with living tissues than current drug delivery technologies.

Environmental influences such as gravity can affect the quality of these materials and delivery systems. In microgravity, they are larger and have greater uniformity and structural integrity. This investigation could help identify the best formulations and methods for cost-effective in-space production. These nanomaterials also could be used to create novel systems targeting therapy delivery that improves patient outcomes with fewer side effects.

Next-generation pharmaceutical nanostructures

The newest Industrial Crystallization Cassette (ADSEP-ICC) investigation adds capabilities to an existing protein crystallization facility. The cassette can process more sample types, including tiny gold particles used in devices that detect cancer and other diseases or in targeted drug delivery systems. Microgravity makes it possible to produce larger and more uniform gold particles, which improves their use in research and real-life applications of technologies related to human health.

Helping plants grow

Rhodium USAFA NIGHT examines how tomato plants respond to microgravity and whether a carbon dioxide replacement can reduce how much space-grown plants depend on photosynthesis. Because photosynthesis needs light, which requires spacecraft power to generate, alternatives would reduce energy use. The investigation also examines whether using supplements increases plant growth on the space station, which has been observed in preflight testing on Earth. In future plant production facilities aboard spacecraft or on celestial bodies, supplements could come from available organic materials such as waste.

Understanding how plants adapt to microgravity could help grow food during long-duration space missions or harsh environments on Earth.

Atomic clocks in space

An ESA (European Space Agency) investigation, Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES), examines fundamental physics concepts such as Einstein’s theory of relativity using two next-generation atomic clocks operated in microgravity. Results have applications to scientific measurement studies, the search for dark matter, and fundamental physics research that relies on highly accurate atomic clocks in space. The experiment also tests a technology for synchronizing clocks worldwide using global navigation satellite networks.

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/nasas-spacex-32nd-resupply-mission-launches-new-research-to-station/

Picture captions:

Two of the space station’s Astrobee robots are used to test a vision-based guidance system for Smartphone Video Guidance Sensor (SVGS)
NASA


Stem cells grown along the Janus base nanomaterials (JBNs) made aboard the International Space Station.
University of Connecticut


Hardware for the Rhodium Plant LIFE, which was the first in a series used to study how space affects plant growth.
NASA


An artist’s concept shows the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space hardware mounted on the Earth-facing side of the space station’s exterior.
ESA

[ddspaceman]

ISS National Lab
@ISS_CASIS
Media Alert! 📣 Are you curious about the #science scheduled to launch to the @Space_Station  later this month? We got you! Join our #webinar Wednesday, April 16 at 1:00pm ET and hear directly from researchers sending their investigations to new heights! From new ways to treat #cancer to helping plants survive long journeys in space, this research will bring benefits to Earth and beyond.

Not media but are curious? We'll be livestreaming and hope you'll join us. Questions can be submitted via social media using #ISSNATIONALLAB.

Details and registration are here: https://issnl.us/f9

https://twitter.com/ISS_CASIS/status/1910362256241569852

[ddspaceman]

NASA Sets Coverage for SpaceX 32nd Station Resupply Launch, Arrival

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 4:15 a.m. EDT, Monday, April 21, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. This is the 32nd SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the orbiting laboratory for the agency.

Filled with more than 6,400 pounds of supplies, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Live launch coverage will begin at 3:55 a.m. on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms.

NASA’s coverage of Dragon’s arrival to the orbital outpost will begin at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, April 22, on NASA+. The spacecraft will dock autonomously to the zenith port of the space station’s Harmony module.

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 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 Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until May, when it will depart and return to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of California.

NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Wednesday, April 16

1 p.m. – International Space Station National Lab Science Webinar with the following participants:

    Jennifer Buchli, chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program
    Michael Roberts, chief scientific officer, International Space Station National Lab
    Claire Fortenberry, research aerospace engineer, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland
    Yupeng Chen, co-founder, Eascra Biotech
    Mari Anne Snow, CEO, Eascra Biotech
    Maj. Travis Tubbs, U.S. Air Force Academy
    Heath Mills, co-founder, Rhodium Scientific
    Sarah Wyatt, researcher, Ohio University

Media who wish to participate must register for Zoom access no later than one hour before the start of the webinar.

Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the International Space Station National Lab website.

Friday, April 18

3 p.m. – Prelaunch media teleconference (no earlier than one hour after completion of the Launch Readiness Review) with the following participants:

    Zebulon Scoville, deputy manager, Transportation Integration Office, NASA’s International Space Station Program
    Jennifer Buchli, chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program
    Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
    Jimmy Taeger, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Media who wish to participate by phone must request dial-in information by 5 p.m. Thursday, April 17, by emailing Kennedy’s newsroom at: [email protected].

Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website.

Monday, April 21:

3:55 a.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+.

4:15 a.m. – Launch

Tuesday, April 22:

6:45 a.m. – Arrival coverage begins on NASA+.

8:20 a.m. – Docking

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-spacex-32nd-station-resupply-launch-arrival/

[ddspaceman]

NASA's Johnson Space Center
@NASA_Johnson
Time for a restock. ✅

More than 6,400 pounds of science and supplies will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at @NASAKennedy and be delivered to the @Space_Station. Launch is targeted for 4:15 a.m. EDT, Monday, April 21. For more information and how to watch live: http://go.nasa.gov/4lsuqc2

https://twitter.com/NASA_Johnson/status/1911875983575065051