Overview: A Busy Week on the International Space Station
As the United States entered a government shutdown, life aboard the International Space Station carried on with routine efficiency. The Expedition 73 crew continued critical science, station maintenance, and preparation for future research while Earth below grappled with budgetary uncertainty. The seven-person team—commanded by Sergey Ryzhikov and joined by fellow cosmonauts and NASA and JAXA astronauts—carried out experiments, kept the station’s systems in top condition, and maintained a steady rhythm of daily work and exercise. By Oct. 3, 2025, two crew spacecraft remained docked and both major cargo deliveries were secured, underscoring the ISS as a resilient, international research outpost even during fiscal tensions on the ground.
Among the crew’s ongoing tasks, mission updates highlighted a blend of science, maintenance, and Earth observation—reminding the public that progress in space research can continue despite political gridlock back home.
Science Highlights This Week
The Expedition 73 crew advanced several forward-looking experiments, each with implications for long-duration missions beyond low Earth orbit.
SHRIMP — Humidity Removal in Microgravity
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim activated the State-of-the-art Humidity Removal in Microgravity Payload, a device designed to remove moisture from the spacecraft atmosphere for reuse. By better managing humidity, researchers aim to improve life-support efficiency on future deep-space missions, where resource recovery is essential for crew sustainability.
Heat Transfer Host 2
Mike Fincke installed the new Heat Transfer Host 2 experiment to study condensation when gas turns to liquid. Findings could inform the design of thermal systems for crewed spacecraft traveling to distant destinations, helping keep equipment and astronauts at safe, stable temperatures during long-duration missions.
ADvanced Space Experiment Processor-4
NASA flight engineer Zena Cardman set up new sample cassettes for a study focused on manufacturing medicines in microgravity. The research explores how space processing might enable efficient production of pharmaceuticals or other therapies in environments where gravity is minimal.
Station Keeping and Maintenance
Beyond experiments, the crew dedicated time to configuring and updating station hardware, ensuring systems stand ready for the next wave of research and potential debris mitigation tests.
Fluid Science Laboratory
Mike Fincke and Jonny Kim reconfigured the European Space Agency’s Fluid Science Laboratory. They updated electrical connections, reassembled components, and mounted foam coarsening samples to study how fluids behave in the microgravity environment—critical for both scientific research and industrial processes in space.
Capture Bag Demo
Fincke installed the TransAstra Fly Trap Capture Bag Demo in the NanoRacks Bishop airlock, preparing a test of an open-and-close system designed to stay airtight in weightlessness. If demonstrated successfully, this approach could contribute to methods for capturing and disposing of space debris, a growing concern for orbital safety.
Electrostatic Levitation Furnace
JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui swapped specimen handling hardware and adjusted cables for the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace. The device uses lasers to heat materials to ultra-high temperatures, allowing researchers to measure thermo-physical properties of samples in ways not possible on Earth. Insights from this work feed into material science and manufacturing in space.
By the Numbers
As of Friday, Oct. 3, the International Space Station housed seven crew members: Expedition 73 commander Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos); Alexey Zubritsky and Oleg Platonov (Roscosmos); Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, and Mike Fincke (NASA); and Kimiya Yui (JAXA). Two docked crew spacecraft were on the station: SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavour attached to the Harmony module and Roscosmos’ Soyuz MS-27 docked to the Prichal node.
There were four docked cargo spacecraft: Roscosmos Progress MS-31 (92P) at the Poisk module, Progress M-32 (93P) at the Zvezda service module, SpaceX CRS-33 Dragon at Harmony Node 2, and Northrop Grumman’s NG-23 Cygnus XL, the “SS William C. ‘Willie’ McCool,” berthed to the Unity node. This robust logistics mix ensures the ISS has the necessary supplies to continue operations and research during a challenging period on Earth.
Human Moments from Orbit
Even amid the serious work of science and maintenance, crew members share lighter moments. A recent post from Kimiya Yui noted a busy day of photos taken between workouts, including a view along the Mediterranean before passing over Japan’s Honshu. His reminder that the crew also enjoys the perspective of Earth—while keeping up with exercise and duties—speaks to daily life aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Looking Ahead
With seven crew members on board and multiple docking opportunities and cargo missions in place, Expedition 73 is positioned to continue essential science and station operations. The ongoing work on humidity control, heat transfer, materials science, and fluid dynamics will help shape the design and resilience of future spacecraft that will carry humans deeper into the solar system. Even as political events unfold on Earth, the International Space Station remains a beacon of international cooperation and steady progress in space research.
