NASA’s SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is pictured approaching the Worldwide Area Station in June 2025, carrying the Ax-4 crew. Mission managers have given the “go” to undock this non-public astronaut mission (Axiom Mission 4) on Monday, July 14 at 7:05 a.m. EDT. The four-person crew, led by veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson, has spent about two and a half weeks aboard the orbiting lab conducting science. Whitson’s crewmates are Shubhanshu Shukla (India), Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary), the primary astronauts from their nations to go to the ISS. Collectively they carried out dozens of experiments in microgravity earlier than packing up for the trip residence.

Finishing the Analysis Mission

Based on NASA, the Ax-4 staff stored a busy schedule of science actions of their final days on station. On Friday they collected blood samples for later medical evaluation and grew microalgae as a possible meals supply and life-support organism in house. In addition they studied particular nanomaterials that would develop into wearable well being displays.

On Saturday the crew labored on human well being investigations: testing electrical muscle stimulation, attempting new train swimsuit materials for thermal consolation, and filming their every day routines for a behavioural well being examine. By Sunday they started stowing analysis gear and packing science samples and private cargo inside Dragon for return to Earth.

Making ready for the Return Journey

Expedition 73 station crew members pitched in to assist finalize the departure. NASA astronaut Anne McClain helped collect {hardware} and provides for packing Dragon and assisted with Ax-4’s ongoing experiments. Colleagues Nichole Ayers and Jonny Kim spun the astronauts’ blood samples in a centrifuge and stowed them within the science freezer, then transferred water into the spacesuits throughout pre‐return checks. Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi processed saliva samples and carried out routine upkeep, and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritskiy ran a last health check on the station’s train bike.

The SpaceX Dragon will carry the crew and roughly 580 kilos of cargo – together with {hardware} and information from over 60 experiments – again to Earth. Upon undocking on Monday, Dragon will ultimately splash down off the California coast, returning the Ax-4 crew and their analysis samples after this historic worldwide mission.