NASA has confirmed that Expedition 74 will continue its mission aboard the International Space Station following the return of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission. In an announcement, the agency stated that the three remaining astronauts will carry out research activities and station maintenance while waiting for the next crew rotation scheduled for February.
Crew-11 safely returned to Earth on January 15, with its Dragon capsule splashing down off the coast of California. The four astronauts completed a 167-day mission in orbit before heading home.
Currently on board the ISS are NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev. The trio arrived at the station in November for an eight-month research mission and is expected to remain in space until summer. Since their arrival, they have been conducting scientific experiments and routine maintenance tasks. Williams recently worked inside the Quest airlock to deactivate two spacesuits, cleaning and flushing their cooling systems after a planned spacewalk was delayed. At the same time, Mikaev installed Earth-observation equipment, while Kud-Sverchkov serviced the station’s oxygen generation system.
NASA is also preparing for the next crew handover. The upcoming Crew-12 mission will be commanded by Jessica Meir, with Jack Hathaway serving as pilot. Mission specialists include ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Crew-12 is scheduled to launch on Sunday, February 15, and once docked, the new arrivals will join Expedition 74 to maintain a full crew aboard the ISS.