SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to depart ISS on February 26 with research samples and hardware

NASA CRS-33 will bring home a multitude of scientific experiments that will help medicine and more.
BY PRANJAL PRANIT
PUBLISHED FEB 24, 2026
SpaceX Dragon, carrying more than 5000 lbs of science, supplies, and hardware for NASA’s SpaceX CRS-33 mission, approaches the ISS on August 25, 2025, for an automated docking to the Harmony module’s forward port. (Representative Image Source: NASA)
SpaceX Dragon, carrying more than 5000 lbs of science, supplies, and hardware for NASA’s SpaceX CRS-33 mission, approaches the ISS on August 25, 2025, for an automated docking to the Harmony module’s forward port. (Representative Image Source: NASA)

A SpaceX Dragon capsule will undock from the International Space Station at 12:05 pm EST on Thursday, February 26, 2025, NASA confirmed. Upon separation from ISS's Harmony module's forward-facing port, the capsule carrying scientific research samples and hardware will navigate itself away from the orbiting lab. Later, at 11:44 pm PST on the same day (2:44 am EST, February 27), it will splash down off the coast of California, bringing an end to CRS-33, or the 33rd flight of the Commercial Resupply Services mission. 

The city lights of Türkiye sparkle 261 miles below the International Space Station in this photograph from a window aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. (Representative Image Source: Kimiya Yui | JAXA)
The city lights of Türkiye sparkle 261 miles below the International Space Station in this photograph from a window aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. (Representative Image Source: Kimiya Yui | JAXA)

The CRS-33 Dragon spacecraft is one of the seven spaceships parked at the International Space Station. Over the weekend, NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, as well as ESA’s Sophie Adenot of the recently arrived Crew-12 mission helped with the cargo loading. According to NASA, they were joined by their Expedition 74 crewmate Chris Williams too, who has been showing them the ropes of living and working aboard the ISS. 

Illustration of ISS Configuration on February 14, 2026. Seven spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Crew-12 Dragon and SpaceX CRS-33 Dragon, JAXA’s HTV-X1 cargo craft, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft, the Soyuz MS-28 crew ship, and the Progress 92 and 93 resupply ships. (Representative Image Source: NASA)
Illustration of ISS Configuration on February 14, 2026. (Representative Image Source: NASA)

CRS-33’s Dragon, besides bringing to Earth samples that could aid future space exploration and life on Earth, also boosted the orbit of ISS. As a part of trying a new method of countering the atmospheric drag on the station, Dragon has raised the orbital height of ISS six times since it arrived in August 2025. The last of these maneuvers was in January of this year.

Expedition 74 welcomes NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 members aboard the International Space Station. In the front from left are, Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos, Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, both from NASA, and Sophie Adenot from ESA (European Space Agency). In the back are, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, Chris Williams of NASA, and Sergei Mikaev of Roscosmos. (Image Source: NASA+)
Expedition 74 welcomes NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 members aboard the International Space Station. (Image Source: NASA+)

Among the research samples being returned aboard the Dragon spacecraft, mention must be made of frozen samples from the Stellar Stem Cells Mission 2 experiment. By aiding the study of how the brain and stem cell growth are affected by microgravity, the experiment could prove to be a blessing for those suffering from ALS and Parkinson's disease. Besides this, other projects include SpaceDuino, which makes use of low-cost, off-the-shelf electronic components and software for research in space. 

Schematic diagram of how Dragon approaches ISS for docking. (Representative Image Source: SpaceX)
Schematic diagram of how Dragon approaches ISS for docking. (Representative Image Source: SpaceX)

A key area of research aboard the ISS has also been the Moon Microscope, which features a handheld microscope for blood sampling. It is a diagnostic kit meant for use by astronauts in the harsh environments of space. Even on the surface of the Moon or Mars, it will help astronauts diagnose illnesses. Treatments by surgeons on Earth will then be conveyed to crew members, possibly of future Artemis missions. The handheld device is also said to allow inspection of consumables or other collected samples. 

A preflight image of the miniature microscope developed for the Moon Microscope investigation. (Image Source: NASA’s Johnson Space Center Immunology/Virology Laboratory)
A preflight image of the miniature microscope developed for the Moon Microscope investigation. (Image Source: NASA’s Johnson Space Center Immunology/Virology Laboratory)

More experiments are also part of the returning cargo, which have their origins in commercial and international collaboration. One of which is the Liquid Crystals experiment from Thailand, while another is called Euro Material Ageing. Both are designed to test the longevity of materials in space, which will have useful applications for equipment in future long-term explorations by humans.

For those interested, NASA will stream the undocking of CRS-33’s Dragon capsule on their NASA+, Amazon Prime, and its YouTube channel. The stream is set to begin at 11:45 am EST on Thursday.

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