![\"The](\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/jsc2026e004027\/jsc2026e004027~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1193&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\")
<\/a><\/figure>Four Expedition 75<\/a> crew members are in their final full day aboard the International Space Station<\/a> as they prepare to undock aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and return to Earth. Their departure will leave seven residents aboard the orbital outpost to continue advanced space research and lab maintenance.<\/p>\n NASA astronauts Jessica Meir<\/a> and Jack Hathaway<\/a> will respectively command and pilot Dragon when it undocks from the Harmony module<\/a>\u2019s space-facing port at 8:05 a.m. EDT on Wednesday. Mission specialists Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos will ride back to Earth with the NASA duo for a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 11:34 a.m. on Thursday where NASA and SpaceX support personnel will retrieve Dragon and greet the crew. Their return to Earth will represent the completion of NASA\u2019s SpaceX Crew-12<\/a> mission after 237 days in space.<\/p>\n The homebound quartet has finalized packing Dragon with personal items, cargo, and scientific samples that began a couple of weeks ago. The returning crew also prepared drink bags combined with salt tablets that they will consume before reentering Earth\u2019s atmosphere. Fluid loading is a part of every crew\u2019s return to Earth and helps the body adjust to gravity after a long duration spaceflight.<\/p>\n NASA+ will begin its live coverage of Crew-12\u2019s return at 6 a.m.<\/a> as the foursome enters Dragon and closes its hatch at around 6:20 a.m. NASA+ will resume undocking coverage at 7:45 a.m.<\/a> Finally, splashdown coverage begins at 10:20 a.m.<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n The station\u2019s four newest crewmates, who arrived at the station on Oct. 1<\/a> as NASA\u2019s SpaceX Crew-13<\/a> members, have begun their research duties to advance health on and off the Earth. They will live and work aboard the orbital outpost until spring 2027.<\/p>\n NASA flight engineer Jessica Watkins<\/a> collected, processed, and analyzed her blood samples to study the risk of space-caused blood clots<\/a> on Tuesday. NASA flight engineer Luke Delaney<\/a> logged his sleep patterns, collected a saliva sample, then configured a smart watch to measure his health data for the RelaxPro<\/a> investigation. Flight engineer Josh Kutryk of CSA (Canadian Space Agency) had his veins scanned by Adenot who operated the Ultrasound 3<\/a> device. Finally, Roscosmos flight engineer Sergey Teteryatnikov wore an acoustic sensor around his neck and recorded his breathing rate for a respiratory study.<\/p>\n NASA flight engineer Anil Menon<\/a> and station commander Pyotr Dubrov and flight engineer Anna Kikina, both Roscosmos cosmonauts, began their mission on July 14<\/a> and will also stay in space until spring. Menon wore a sensor-packed vest and headband<\/a> that measured his heart and breathing rate as he pedaled on the Destiny laboratory module<\/a>\u2019s exercise cycle<\/a>. Dubrov and Kikina set up hardware to test a special body-worn control device to simulate manipulating robots for the Teledroid investigation.<\/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":" Four Expedition 75 crew members are in their final full day aboard the International Space Station as they prepare to undock aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and return to Earth. Their departure will leave seven residents aboard the orbital outpost to continue advanced space research and lab maintenance. Continue reading