MS-28 astronauts prepare for departure from ISS this weekend after 8-month-long stay

Three astronauts currently living aboard the International Space Station are preparing for their return to Earth this week. NASA’s Chris Williams, with Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, is scheduled to return on the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft eight months after their launch to the orbital outpost on November 27, 2025. The spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the station's Rassvet module on July 26 and land in Kazakhstan after a short trip.

These three were responsible for running operations aboard the space lab after the four Crew-11 astronauts were forced to return prematurely due to a medical issue with one of the members, Mike Fincke. Their departure will signify the beginning of Expedition 75 led by Crew-12 commander Jessica Meir. 

They have already started handing over their responsibilities to the MS-29 crew, which arrived at the ISS on July 14. Williams is passing the baton to fellow citizen Anil Menon, who launched with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina on his debut mission. Williams is helping Menon locate food, cargo, and medical supplies, familiarize himself with the space station, and operate the lab hardware and systems. 

Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev, meanwhile, are handing over their responsibilities to Roscosmos flight engineers Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina and packing the Soyuz spacecraft for their journey back home. NASA says the MS-29 crew has also begun working on research, with soon-to-be ISS commander Jessica Meir assisting Menon in his health studies. The latter began his research with blood sample collections, blood pressure checks, and artery scans using the Ultrasound 3 biomedical device. Dubrov and Kikina, meanwhile, used virtual reality goggles to test how their senses of balance and direction are adapting to microgravity.

Over the next eight months, the MS-29 crew will conduct several experiments, including studying effects of microgravity on blood flow and in-space production of semiconductor crystals to enable manufacturing of components needed for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence, and improved medical devices. 

With MS-28’s return, the headcount of the station will return to seven. Besides Meir, the MS-29 crew will share the orbital outpost with NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway, ESA's Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos' Andrey Fedyaev. These four residents are part of NASA’s Crew-12 mission, which was launched by SpaceX on February 13, with the return scheduled in late 2026.

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