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NASA, Partners to Conduct Space Station Research During Expedition 73


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NASA, Partners to Conduct Space Station Research During Expedition 73

image of space station with Earth in backdrop
The official portrait of the International Space Station's seven-member Expedition 73 crew from three different space agencies. Seated in the front row from left, are NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain. In the back row from left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov; NASA astronaut Jonny Kim; Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky; and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi.
NASA

NASA astronauts are gearing up for a scientific mission aboard the International Space Station. Expedition 73 NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov will launch in March as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will join the crew when he launches aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft in April alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky.

Read more about some of the microgravity research planned by NASA and its partners:

Subjects for human research

McClain, wearing a blue t-shirt and black pants, has a blue band around her upper left arm and holds a blood sample collection device in her right hand. Behind her is Saint-Jacques, wearing a blue polo shirt with a CSA logo and khaki pants and holding a sample vial in his right hand.
NASA

Astronauts often serve as test subjects, submitting blood and other samples for research. NASA astronaut Anne McClain is pictured submitting a sample on a previous mission with assistance from CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut David Saint-Jacques. McClain will participate in NASA’s Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research investigation, or CIPHER, a suite of integrated studies on physiological and psychological changes seen in space. Results could provide valuable insights for future deep space missions.

Testing lunar navigation

Williams is wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt, her dark hair floating around her head. She is looking at the camera and holding in her right hand a black mic connected by a thick silver cord to a black box mounted on the wall, and in her left hand, a laptop.
NASA

When Expedition 73 astronauts engage with students worldwide via the ISS Ham Radio program, researchers will use the ham radio hardware to test software for the Navigation and Communication Testbed (NAVCOM) that could help shape future lunar navigation. Researchers from the investigation recently launched a related study to the Moon aboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost to help bridge existing Earth navigation with emerging lunar-specific solutions.

Advancing fire safety 

A plexiglass rod extending horizontally from right to left has a bright yellow and orange flame on its tip. The rod is inside a metal structure bathed in green light.
NASA

Expedition 73 is scheduled to conduct a Material Ignition and Suppression Test (SoFIE-MIST), testing material flammability in microgravity. This research could improve fire safety on future missions, contributing to models used to select materials for space facilities and helping to determine the best ways to extinguish fires in space.

Keeping blood flowing

A shiny, gold rectangular box sits on a sheet of white plastic. The box has cloth straps coming out of each side and two strips of Velcro on its top along with a white barcode label and logos in Italian for the Italian Space Agency, University of Ferrara, and National Institute of Nuclear Physics.
Angelo Taibi/ASI

Expedition 73 crew members will participate in Drain Brain 2.0, which examines how blood flows from the brain to the heart in microgravity using this plethysmograph, a device that can record the volume of blood drainage from the skull. Results could identify which processes in the body compensate for the lack of gravity, helping to ensure proper blood flow for astronauts on future missions and people with cardiovascular issues on Earth.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For more than 24 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under Artemis and, ultimately, human exploration of Mars. 

Learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and its crew, at: 

https://www.nasa.gov/station

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Mar 10, 2025

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      Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
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      Henrik Melin (Northumbria University)
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      Last Updated Mar 25, 2025 Editor Stephen Sabia Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
      James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Astrophysics Goddard Space Flight Center Neptune Planetary Science Planets Science & Research The Solar System View the full article
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