A new international team has arrived at the International Space Station as the US and Russian crew safely dock with ISS for an eight-month mission, reinforcing long-standing cooperation in orbit at a time when geopolitical divisions on Earth remain sharp. The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft launched from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome with NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Mikaev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov before docking with the station after a standard rendezvous profile.

Upon boarding the orbital complex, the US and Russian crew safely docked with ISS for an eight-month mission, temporarily expanding the station’s population to ten. The crew joins Expedition 73, where they will support an intensive research schedule focused on microgravity biology, fluid physics, materials science, climate-related observation, and technology demonstrations designed to advance future exploration missions.

NASA has outlined a research portfolio that connects this expedition directly to Artemis objectives. Williams will run a series of investigations on human physiology, radiation exposure, medical technologies, and long-duration life-support systems. Russian specialists will lead experiments in materials processing, spacecraft system reliability, and Earth observation analytics, and will contribute shared data to ISS partner agencies.

Throughout the coming months, the US and Russian crew will safely dock with ISS for an eight-month mission that includes planned spacewalks to maintain external hardware, solar array components, and cooling lines. The trio will also assist with cargo arrivals, scientific equipment swaps, and continuous monitoring of the station’s power and environmental systems.

Their arrival coincides with the 25-year milestone of continuous human presence aboard the ISS—a reminder that, despite turbulence in international politics, operational collaboration in low-Earth orbit still functions as one of the world’s most resilient scientific partnerships. Mission control teams in Houston and Moscow jointly confirmed the spacecraft’s smooth docking and welcomed the crew with acknowledgments of this anniversary.

The US and Russian crew safely docked with ISS for an eight-month mission scheduled to conclude in mid-2026, when Soyuz MS-28 will return the astronauts and cosmonauts to Earth. By mission’s end, the team will have contributed to hundreds of datasets critical for planning next-generation stations, lunar surface systems, and long-duration interplanetary travel.