Crew returns from 241-day microgravity research mission
The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft touched down in the Kazakh steppe southeast of Dzhezkazgan on July 26, 2026, at 5:27 a.m. CDT (3:27 p.m. local Kazakhstan time), carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev to a close of their 241-day mission aboard the International Space Station. Reports dated July 27, 2026, said the crew had launched to the orbiting laboratory on November 27, 2025, completing 3,856 orbits of Earth and traveling more than 102 million miles. The landing marked the first spaceflight for Williams and Mikaev, and the second for Kud-Sverchkov. Following standard post-landing procedures, the crew underwent medical checks before being flown by helicopter to Karaganda, with Williams continuing to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and his Russian crewmates heading to Star City near Moscow.
Cancer treatment research anchors Williams' science portfolio
Williams' research aboard the station was aimed in part at supporting the development of new cancer treatments, leveraging microgravity conditions that alter how cancer cells grow in ways that are difficult or impossible to replicate under Earth's gravity. His focus on oncology was a continuation of work he conducted before joining NASA in 2021, when he served as a researcher focused on imaging and radiation treatments for cancer patients. NASA framed the broader portfolio of cancer-related biological research aboard the station as feeding into preparations for longer-duration spaceflight and for medical advances on Earth, with long stays on the orbital outpost allowing researchers to study how the human body adapts to extended periods in microgravity, including changes in bone density, muscle mass and shifts in the immune system.
In-space manufacturing of medical and electronic materials
Beyond biomedical research, Williams took part in experiments focused on improving the production of materials used in high-performance computers and electronics manufactured in the microgravity environment of space. Reports noted that this line of research aims to benefit both space exploration and terrestrial applications, including improving medical technologies that rely on advanced electronic components. NASA officials said materials and biological processes behave differently in microgravity, enabling scientists to study phenomena ranging from cancer cell growth to the manufacture of high-value electronic components with fewer defects. The crew also completed two spacewalks during the mission, contributing to maintenance and upgrade work on the station's robotic arm and solar power system.
Life support and food production tested for long-duration missions
The Williams-Kud-Sverchkov-Mikaev crew joined ongoing station research into life support systems and food production methods, areas NASA describes as central to enabling future crewed missions to the Moon under the Artemis programme and eventual journeys to Mars. The station has hosted continuous human presence for more than 25 years, serving as a testbed for the technologies needed to keep astronauts healthy during multi-year deep-space voyages. The available reporting did not detail specific findings from the food production experiments conducted during the 241-day stay, though NASA characterises such work as critical for missions further into the solar system.
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