Space Cancer Therapy and Chip Research End With Expedition 74 Crew Return This Weekend
NASA astronaut Chris Williams and his crew are returning to Earth after an eight-month mission on the International Space Station. The mission focused on significant research in oncology and semiconductor crystal growth, which are critical as the station approaches its scheduled deorbit.
Why it matters
The mission highlights the unique value of orbital research for medical and technological breakthroughs that are difficult to achieve under Earth's gravity.
NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev are set to depart the International Space Station this Sunday, closing out eight months that produced promising advances in space-manufactured cancer nanomaterials and semiconductor crystal growth - research that depends on orbital conditions that the ISS itself, now four years from scheduled deorbit, will not be able to offer indefinitely. Soyuz MS-28 is scheduled to undock from the station's Rassvet module at 3:02 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 26, and is expected to land on the Kazakh steppe southeast of Dzhezkazgan at 6:26 a.m. ET (3:26 p.m. local time), under a parachute-assisted descent covered by the NASA Media Advisory M26-057. NASA updated its coverage advisory on July 23, 2026 to confirm the timeline. Live coverage will stream on NASA+.
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