NASA Astronaut Chris Williams, Crewmates Return from Space Station

The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 74 NASA astronaut Chris Williams, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev aboard, Sunday, July 26, 2026. NASA/Bill Ingalls Concluding an eight-month science mission aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Chris Williams returned to Earth on Sunday alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev. m.

, aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft. The crew was in space for 241 days, orbiting the Earth 3,856 times and traveling more than 102 million miles. They launched to the International Space Station on Nov.

27, 2025. The mission was the first for Williams and Mikaev and the second for Kud-Sverchkov. While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Williams supported a wide range of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations.

He helped advance research for new cancer treatments and improved in-space manufacturing of materials used in high-performance computers and electronics. Williams also completed two spacewalks to prep for space station power system upgrades and to replace a faulty joint on the Canadarm2 robotic arm. The crew’s work aboard the space station helps improve life on Earth and prepare for future human missions to the Moon and Mars.

Following post-landing medical checks, the crew members will fly by helicopter to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where recovery teams are based. Williams then will board a NASA aircraft bound for the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth.

The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars. gov Share Details Last Updated Jul 26, 2026 Editor Jennifer M. Dooren Location NASA Headquarters Related Terms Humans in Space Christopher L.