A few hours ago, cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky and astronaut Jonny Kim returned to Earth on the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft, which landed in Kazakhstan. They had reached the International Space Station on April 8, 2025, as part of a normal crew rotation. The capsule landed on its side, an event that can occur due to reentry conditions, but the crew members suffered no injuries.

During their time on the International Space Station as part of Expedition 73, the three crew members carried out various routine maintenance activities and numerous scientific experiments.

During this period, some cargo spacecraft movements occurred. On August 25, an American SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft reached the Station on its CRS-33 mission. On September 9, the Russian Progress MS-30 cargo spacecraft left the Station to disintegrate in Earth’s atmosphere. On September 13, the Russian Progress MS-32 cargo spacecraft reached the Station. On October 29, 2025, the Japanese HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft reached the Station. It was a busy period, so much so that, for the first time, all eight of the Station’s docking ports were occupied, thanks in large part to the presence of cargo spacecraft from various nations.

Two spacewalks were conducted on October 16 and 28. Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky spent just over six hours and almost seven hours, respectively, installing instruments and performing maintenance work on the Russian Nauka module.

On Friday, December 5, Sergey Ryzhikov officially handed over command of the International Space Station to American astronaut Mike Fincke. The launch of the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft marked the beginning of Expedition 74.

International Space Station crew rotations are fairly normal, considering the arrivals of the Russian Soyuz and American Crew Dragon spacecraft. Long-term concerns remain, depending on the individual nations’ plans. The Station’s operations are scheduled to continue until 2030, and the coming years will reveal whether the Russians will be able to move forward with their plans, already announced several years ago, to establish a national space station. Similar plans are also being made by private companies, in a situation that could become very fluid in the coming years.