Expedition 72 is the 72nd long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). The expedition began with the departure of Soyuz MS-25 on 23 September 2024 and is led by Sunita Williams, her second time serving as commander of the ISS.[1] It will continue the extensive scientific research conducted aboard the ISS, focusing on various fields, including biology, human physiology, physics, and materials science. The crew members will also maintain and upgrade the space station systems.
Wilmore and Williams arrived at the station on 6 June 2024 for what was expected to be a brief visit as part of the Boeing Crew Flight Test mission. However, their spacecraft experienced technical issues and returned to Earth uncrewed, and Wilmore and Williams were added to the Expedition 71/72/73 crew.[2]
Ovchinin, Vagner, and Pettit arrived at the station on 11 September aboard Soyuz MS-26.[3][4] Hague and Gorbunov arrived to the station on 29 September aboard SpaceX Crew-9.[5] After a handover period, SpaceX Crew-8 departed on 23October.
