![\"Soyuz](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/blog-soyuzm28-crew-112625.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>One NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan counting down to a lift off on Thanksgiving Day to the International Space Station<\/a> to begin an eight-month microgravity research mission. The seven-member Expedition 73<\/a> crew will expand to ten when the new trio arrives just over three hours after launch.<\/p>\n NASA astronaut Chris Williams<\/a> and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev are in final preparations ahead of their launch aboard the Soyuz MS-28 crew spacecraft set for 4:27 a.m. EDT (2:27 p.m. Baikonur time) on Thursday, Nov. 27. Williams and Mikaev are beginning their first spaceflight while Kud-Sverchkov will be on his second mission to the orbital outpost.<\/p>\n The trio will orbit Earth twice inside the Soyuz spacecraft before its automated rendezvous and docking to the Rassvet module at 7:38 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The hatches will open about an hour-and-a-half later after a series of pressure and leak checks the new station trio will enter the station for a welcome ceremony and then a safety briefing with the Expedition 73 crew.<\/p>\n Onboard the station Wednesday, NASA Flight Engineers Zena Cardman<\/a>, Jonny Kim<\/a>, and Mike Fincke<\/a> joined JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui for an off-duty day on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritsky, and Oleg Platonov stayed busy throughout the day. All seven crewmates will be busy on Thanksgiving welcoming the new arrivals and helping them get used to their new home in space.<\/p>\n Ryzhikov and Zubritsky partnered together readied crew quarters for the arriving crew. Ryzhikov also continued packing cargo inside the Soyuz MS-27 crew spacecraft<\/a> that he, Zubritsky, and Kim will ride back to Earth in next month. Zubritsky participated in a blood circulation study then began collecting his personal items for stowage aboard the Soyuz MS-27. Zubritsky, with assistance from Platonov, also tested the lower body negative pressure suit<\/a> for its ability to reverse the space-caused flow of body fluids toward a crew member\u2019s head. Results may prevent microgravity-induced head and eye pressure and help crews adjust quicker to the return to Earth\u2019s gravity.<\/p>\n Learn more about station activities by following the <\/em>space station blog<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>@space_station<\/em><\/a> on X, as well as the <\/em>ISS Facebook<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>ISS Instagram<\/em><\/a> accounts.<\/em><\/p>\n Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. <\/em>Subscribe here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Mark A. Garcia <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan counting down to a lift off on Thanksgiving Day to the International Space Station to begin an eight-month microgravity research mission. The seven-member Expedition 73 crew will expand to ten when the new trio arrives just over three hours after launch. Continue reading