Station’s Newest Trio Adjusts to Mission Life Before Next Crew Departure

Station’s Newest Trio Adjusts to Mission Life Before Next Crew Departure
10 crew members now occupy the International Space Station following the arrival of NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft on Tuesday. The expanded Expedition 74 crew will stay that way until the end of the month when another three crewmates depart the orbital outpost after an eight-month space research mission.
First-time space flyer Menon went to sleep on time Tuesday with NASA flight engineers Chris Williams, Jack Hathaway, and Jessica Meir, and ESA (European Space Agency) flight engineer Sophie Adenot following a standard new crew safety briefing with all 10 crewmates. Menon kicked off Wednesday, his first full day in space, unpacking his personal items and familiarizing himself with station systems and hardware. Next, he assisted Williams and Hathaway with a regularly scheduled inspection to document the condition of lab safety gear, including breathing masks and fire extinguishers.
Williams swapped cargo in and out of the Cygnus XL spacecraft then packed his personal items for stowage inside the Soyuz MS-28 crew spacecraft to prepare for his upcoming return to Earth. Hathaway spent his shift on inspection duties ensuring the functionality and good condition of safety hardware. Meir worked in the Kibo laboratory module and demonstrated making saline solution in microgravity using the station’s water supply.
New flight engineers Dubrov and Kikina slept in on Wednesday with fellow cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev, and Andrey Fedyaev. The new arrivals stayed up late Tuesday unpacking cargo and deactivating the Soyuz MS-29 docked to the Prichal module. The veteran cosmonauts turned their late-shift attention to the upcoming crew departure, lab maintenance, and inventory duties.
The cosmonauts had a short day on Wednesday with Dubrov and Kikina getting up to speed with life in weightlessness, unpacking Soyuz cargo, and photographing docking hardware. Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev, who are set to return to Earth at the end of July with Williams, continued testing the lower body negative pressure suit that may help ease their adjustment to Earth’s gravity after their long-term spaceflight. Fedyaev set up research hardware to demonstrate how microalgae may support a hybrid, self‑sustaining life‑support system in a spacecraft.
At the end of Wednesday’s shift aboard the orbital outpost, all 10 members gathered together and reviewed their emergency roles and responsibilities. The orbital residents examined escape paths to docked spacecraft for safe haven, discussed communication protocols with mission controllers, and located personal protective equipment.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.