New Expedition 73 June-July 2025 Photos | International Space Station

New Expedition 73 June-July 2025 Photos | International Space Station

The seven-member Expedition 73 crew poses for a portrait inside the International Space Station's Zvezda service module. Clockwise from top left are, NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Commander Takuya Onishi; Roscosmos Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritskiy of Russia; NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim and Anne McClain; and Roscosmos Flight Engineers Kirill Peskov and Sergey Ryzhikov of Russia.

NASA astronauts (from left) Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, both Expedition 73 flight engineers, pose for a portrait inside the cupola while monitoring the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Axiom Mission 4 crew as it approaches the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim waves for a portrait while removing research hardware from inside the Materials Science Laboratory (MSL) located inside the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module. The MSL uses two different furnaces that operate one at a time to discover new applications for existing materials, such as metals, alloys, polymers, and new or improved materials.

Scientists can study protein solutions without interference from container walls and gravity driven forces present on Earth using the space station’s Ring Sheared Drop module. The device pins a drop of liquid between two rings and holds it in place with surface tension. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut and Expedition 73 Commander Takuya Onishi sets up for Ring Sheared Drop-IBP-2, a study of the behavior of protein fluids in microgravity. The investigation uses the module to test computer models to predict fluid behavior that could lead to improved processes for manufacturing pharmaceuticals, 3D printing, food processing, and microelectronics.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers conducts research operations inside the Destiny laboratory module's Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station. Ayers swapped syringes containing protein samples and installed test cells inside the glovebox for the Ring-Sheared Drop Interfacial Bioprocessing of Pharmaceuticals investigation that explores using surface tension to contain liquids and study proteins without contacting solid walls. Results may benefit pharmaceutical manufacturing and 3D printing techniques on and off the Earth.

Expedition 73 crew members patiently await the entrance of the Axiom Mission 4 crew from the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft into the International Space Station's Harmony module. Clockwise from left are, NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Commander Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexander Zubritskiy, and Kirill Peskov. Out of frame are, NASA Flight Engineers Nichole Ayers and Jonny Kim.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers inspects and cleans ventilation fans inside the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module. The fans control the circulation of airflow between modules aboard the orbital outpost.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim works on orbital plumbing tasks inside the International Space Station's Tranquility module where the orbital outpost's restroom, or Waste and Hygiene Compartment, is located.

Mission managers have given the “go” for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and undock from the International Space Station’s space-facing port on the Harmony module at 7:05 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 14. Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson will lead Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Tibor Kapu back to Earth completing a two-and-a-half-week research mission aboard the orbiting lab.

Follow Expedition 73:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Image Dates: June 11-July 8, 2025

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