International Space Station Delivers Sweets: Extra-Large Cygnus Cargo Ship Arrives September 15-19, 2025
The International Space Station (ISS) continues to serve as a hub for scientific exploration, with the Expedition 73 crew engaging in a diverse range of research projects this week.
One of the ongoing studies involves astronaut Mike Fincke, who is working on a study involving yeast, yogurt, and fermented milk samples. The goal is to produce vitamins and nutrients that could be essential for future long-duration space missions.
The ISS is currently home to seven crew members: three cosmonauts, three NASA astronauts, and one JAXA astronaut. Among the crew are Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman, who recently used the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture Northrop Grumman's first "extra-large" cargo vehicle, Cygnus XL "SS William C. 'Willie' McCool".
The cargo delivery included care packages for the Expedition 73 crew from home, a treat that was shared on social media by astronaut Jonny Kim. In a photo accompanying the post, Kim is holding kimchi and Korean BBQ pork, while crew mates Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and Kimiya Yui are holding various candies and chocolates.
In addition to the care packages, the ISS also received a cargo delivery from Northrop Grumman's first Cygnus XL cargo craft. Among the research conducted by the Expedition 73 crew aboard the ISS this week was the MVP Cell-07 and Multi-use Variable-g Platform study, which involved bioprinted liver tissues in microgravity. The aim of this study is to advance the manufacture of high-quality vascularized tissues and organs for astronauts and patients on Earth.
Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky unloaded and transferred fluids from the newly arrived Russian Progress 93 resupply ship. Meanwhile, Oleg Platonov, a cosmonaut with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, prepared the hardware needed to observe complex plasmas and photographed glaciers and mountains throughout South America and Africa to record natural and human-made conditions on Earth.
As of Friday, there are 2 docked crew vehicles and 4 docked cargo vehicles at the ISS. These include SpaceX's Dragon "Endeavour" and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-27, along with Roscosmos' Progress MS-31 (92P), Progress M-32 (93P), SpaceX's CRS-33 Dragon, and Northrop Grumman's NG-23 Cygnus XL.
The Expedition 73 crew, including Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman, also discussed life and work aboard the International Space Station during an interview. NASA astronaut Zena Cardman also prepared bone stem cell samples for storage to be returned to Earth for research aimed at protecting astronauts' skeletal systems and potentially treating aging conditions and bone diseases on Earth.
As of Friday, the International Space Station has been continuously crewed for 24 years, 10 months, and 17 days. The crew consists of Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritsky, Oleg Platonov, Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, and Kimiya Yui, with no other non-Expedition 73 individuals mentioned on board as of September 19, 2025.
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