NASA Confirms Expedition 74 Will Continue ISS Work After Crew-11 Exit

NASA announced on 16 January 2026 that, following the return of its SpaceX Crew-11 mission, the remaining Expedition 74 crew will continue their mission aboard the International Space Station. NASA noted that "the orbiting trio will conduct research and maintenance while awaiting the arrival of four new crewmates planned in February". Crew-11's Dragon capsule splashed down safely off California on 15 January, concluding the four-astronaut mission after 167 days in orbit.

Ongoing research and station maintenance

According to the NASA official website, U.S. astronaut Chris Williams, along with Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, will be up in space until summer. They got there last November for an eight-month research mission. So far, they've already started on some experiments and routine maintenance. For instance, Williams worked in the Quest airlock to deactivate two spacesuits. NASA said he took the time to clean and flush out the internal cooling systems of the suits after a scheduled spacewalk got postponed. Meanwhile, Mikaev set up some Earth-observation equipment, and Kud-Sverchkov took care of the station's oxygen generator.

Crew-12 slated for February launch

NASA is getting ready for the next crew change. Crew-12 will be led by Jessica Meir, with Jack Hathaway as the pilot, and they're joined by mission specialists Sophie Adenot from ESA and Andrey Fedyaev from Roscosmos. The launch for Crew-12 is set for Sunday, February 15, right after Crew-11 comes back early. Once they dock, the four astronauts will team up with Expedition 74 to keep the ISS fully staffed.