Who Is on the ISS Right Now? Current Crew for 2026

The Current ISS Expedition

The International Space Station runs on a system of numbered expeditions. Each expedition represents a crew rotation, and the numbering has been continuous since Expedition 1 began in October 2000 with the arrival of Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev. As of early 2026, the station is in the transition between Expedition 72 and Expedition 73.

Expedition numbers increment when the station commander changes, which usually happens every six months. Because crew rotations overlap (more on that below), you will sometimes see the station described as "Expedition 72/73" during a transition window. This just means the outgoing expedition commander has handed authority to the incoming one, while some crew members from both expeditions are still aboard.

The station has been continuously occupied since November 2, 2000, making it the longest unbroken stretch of human habitation off Earth. Every single day for over 25 years, at least one person has been living in low Earth orbit aboard the ISS. That streak continues today with a crew of seven, circling the planet every 90 minutes at roughly 420 kilometers altitude.

Meet the Crew

The current ISS crew is a mix of veteran spaceflyers and first-time visitors, representing four different space agencies. Seven people are aboard right now, having arrived on two different vehicles: a SpaceX Crew Dragon and a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Here is who they are.

SpaceX Crew Dragon Arrivals

Suni Williams (NASA), Station Commander. A veteran of two previous spaceflights, Williams is a retired U.S. Navy captain and helicopter test pilot. She previously set records for spacewalk time by a female astronaut during her first ISS stay in 2006 to 2007. Williams is well known for running the Boston Marathon on a treadmill aboard the station during Expedition 14/15. She brings thousands of hours of flight experience and a deep familiarity with ISS systems.

Butch Wilmore (NASA), Flight Engineer. A former Navy test pilot with carrier landing experience, Wilmore first flew to the ISS on a Soyuz in 2014 and commanded Expedition 42. He is a calm, methodical operator with extensive experience in both the American and Russian segments of the station. On this rotation, he has been heavily involved in maintaining the station's life support systems and conducting spacewalk preparations.

Don Pettit (NASA), Flight Engineer. One of the most experienced astronauts in the corps, Pettit is a chemical engineer by training and widely regarded as the most creative experimenter ever to live aboard the station. His previous stints include Expedition 6 (2002 to 2003) and Expedition 30/31 (2011 to 2012). Pettit is famous for his off-duty science photography, including long-exposure star trails and fluid physics demonstrations that have gone viral online.

Jonny Kim (NASA), Flight Engineer. Kim has one of the most remarkable backgrounds in the astronaut corps. Before joining NASA, he served as a Navy SEAL with over 100 combat operations, then attended Harvard Medical School and earned his M.D. He was selected as an astronaut in 2017 and this is his first spaceflight. His medical expertise makes him the crew's primary medical officer.

Soyuz Arrivals

Oleg Kononenko (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer. Kononenko is one of the most experienced cosmonauts in history. He has flown to the ISS multiple times, accumulating well over 1,000 days in space across his career, placing him among the top five humans for total time in orbit. A trained engineer, he handles maintenance and operations of the Russian segment's systems, including the Zvezda service module's life support.

Nikolai Chub (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer. Chub, a former Russian military officer, arrived aboard a Soyuz and is on an extended stay. He works alongside Kononenko on Russian segment operations and participates in experiments coordinated by the Russian Academy of Sciences. This extended rotation is part of Roscosmos's effort to maximize science time while managing a tighter launch manifest.

Kimiya Yui (JAXA), Flight Engineer. Yui is a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut and former Japan Air Self-Defense Force test pilot. He previously lived aboard the station during Expedition 44/45 in 2015. Yui is responsible for experiments in the Kibo laboratory module, Japan's contribution to the ISS, and brings strong engineering skills to the crew. He is also a certified instructor for the station's robotic arm operations.

How Astronauts Get Selected

Getting assigned to an ISS expedition is the result of years (sometimes decades) of preparation. NASA selects new astronaut candidates every few years from a pool that regularly exceeds 18,000 applicants. The most recent class, selected in 2021, had just 10 members chosen from over 12,000 applications. ESA, JAXA, and the Canadian Space Agency run their own selection cycles on a similar timeline.

Candidates need at minimum a master's degree in a STEM field (or equivalent professional experience, such as medical or test pilot credentials) plus at least two years of related professional work. But meeting the minimum requirements barely gets your application a second look. Most selected candidates hold PhDs, have military test pilot experience, or both. Physical fitness is screened rigorously, but the psychological evaluations are equally demanding. Agencies look for people who can stay focused, cooperative, and effective during months of confinement with a small group.

Once selected, astronaut candidates enter about two years of basic training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston (or their home agency's equivalent). They study ISS systems, learn Russian, train in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (a massive underwater facility that simulates spacewalks), and practice emergency procedures in simulators. After completing basic training, they are officially astronauts, but they may wait several more years before receiving a flight assignment. The total time from application to actually reaching orbit can easily be ten years or more.

The Crew Handover Process

One of the most carefully choreographed events in ISS operations is the crew handover. When a new vehicle arrives (whether a Crew Dragon or Soyuz), the incoming crew does not simply replace the outgoing one overnight. Instead, both crews live aboard the station together for roughly five to seven days.

During this overlap period, the departing crew walks the newcomers through every system they will inherit. This includes the current status of ongoing experiments, any equipment quirks or maintenance issues, the location of critical spare parts, and operational notes that do not always make it into the official documentation. It is a bit like a shift change at a very complicated, very remote research facility.

The formal handover ceremony, where the station commander passes authority to their successor, is a brief but significant moment. The outgoing commander gives a short speech, symbolically hands over control, and the new commander accepts responsibility for the safety of the crew and the station. It is broadcast live on NASA TV, and it marks the official start of the new expedition number.

After the ceremony, the departing crew loads their Crew Dragon or Soyuz with return cargo (including completed experiment samples), seals the hatch, and undocks. The whole undocking and reentry process takes less than a day, with splashdown (for Dragon) or landing (for Soyuz) happening within hours of departure.

What They Are Working On

The current crew is running hundreds of experiments across several major research categories. The ISS National Lab and the international partners coordinate a packed science schedule, and astronauts typically spend about 35 hours per week on research activities. If you are wondering what fills a crew member's typical day, we covered that in detail in our piece on what astronauts do all day on the ISS.

Biomedical research remains the station's biggest category. The crew is participating in studies on bone density loss, muscle atrophy, immune system changes, and cardiovascular adaptation to microgravity. These studies are not just about understanding spaceflight health risks; they also produce insights relevant to aging, osteoporosis, and immune disorders on Earth. Blood draws, ultrasound scans, and wearable biosensors are routine parts of the crew's week.

Materials science experiments take advantage of the microgravity environment to grow protein crystals with fewer defects than those grown on Earth. This helps pharmaceutical researchers map the three-dimensional structures of target proteins more precisely, which is a key step in drug design. The crew also runs combustion experiments that study how flames behave without gravity, producing data that helps engineers design more efficient and safer combustion systems.

Earth observation is an ongoing mission for every ISS crew. Astronauts photograph natural disasters, track deforestation, document coral reef bleaching, and capture images of cities at night. The station's orbit covers about 90% of the populated world, making it a uniquely versatile observation platform. Don Pettit, in particular, is known for spending his personal time capturing striking images of Earth and the cosmos.

Technology demonstrations round out the research program. The station serves as a testbed for hardware destined for future missions to the Moon and Mars. The current crew is testing upgraded life support components, new radiation monitoring devices, and advanced water recycling systems. Each of these technologies needs to prove itself in a real space environment before it can be trusted on a mission where resupply is not an option.

Following the Crew from Earth

Keeping up with the ISS crew has never been easier. NASA's official blog publishes regular updates on crew activities, experiment results, and upcoming milestones. Most astronauts also maintain personal social media accounts where they share photos, video clips, and reflections from orbit. Following them on X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram gives you a surprisingly intimate window into daily life on the station.

For real-time tracking, I personally use Skytrail to follow crew changes in real time. It shows you exactly who is aboard the ISS (and Tiangong), and it will even notify you when the station is about to fly over your location. I love being able to step outside, watch that bright dot cross the sky, and know exactly who is up there and what they are working on. The live position data updates every second, so you can follow the station's ground track across a map as it happens. If you want to connect what you are seeing overhead to the actual people inside, it is honestly the best tool I have found. For tips on spotting the station yourself, check out our guide on how to see the space station from your backyard.

NASA TV also carries live coverage of major events like spacewalks, vehicle arrivals and departures, and crew press conferences. These streams are free to watch on NASA's website and YouTube channel. During spacewalks, you can hear real-time communications between the crew and Mission Control in Houston, which gives you a sense of how calm and methodical these operations really are.