NASA will preview two upcoming spacewalks to complete solar array installation and power augmentation of the International Space Station during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Oct. 20, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA will stream the event through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

NASA participants in the news conference include:

• Gaurang Patel, operations integration manager, Low Earth Orbit Program
• Garrett Hehn, spacewalk flight director, Flight Operations Directorate

United States-based media interested in attending in person must contact the Johnson newsroom no later than 3 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19, at: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. Media joining by phone should request dial-in details by the same deadline. To ask a question, media must dial in no later than 15 minutes before the start of the news conference.

Thursday, Oct. 29

During U.S. spacewalk 100, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk will exit the station’s Quest airlock to install and deploy an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) on the 2A electrical power channel. The solar array will be the seventh IROSA and will provide additional power to support critical station operations, including its safe and controlled deorbit.

Thursday, Nov. 5

During U.S. spacewalk 101, Menon and Kutryk will install and deploy the eighth and final IROSA on the 3B channel of the space station, completing the power augmentation upgrades.

The final two roll-out solar arrays will complete the space station’s power system augmentation. Together, the eight roll-out arrays will increase available power by up to 30%, boosting the station’s electric power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts.

NASA will share additional coverage details about U.S. spacewalks 100 and 101 closer to each operation on the agency’s live events web page and the space station blog. The spacewalks will be the 285th and 286th conducted in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Anna Schneider
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov

NASA will preview two upcoming spacewalks to complete solar array installation and power augmentation of the International Space Station during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Oct. 20, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA will stream the event through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

NASA participants in the news conference include:

• Gaurang Patel, operations integration manager, Low Earth Orbit Program
• Garrett Hehn, spacewalk flight director, Flight Operations Directorate

United States-based media interested in attending in person must contact the Johnson newsroom no later than 3 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19, at: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. Media joining by phone should request dial-in details by the same deadline. To ask a question, media must dial in no later than 15 minutes before the start of the news conference.

Thursday, Oct. 29

During U.S. spacewalk 100, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk will exit the station’s Quest airlock to install and deploy an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) on the 2A electrical power channel. The solar array will be the seventh IROSA and will provide additional power to support critical station operations, including its safe and controlled deorbit.

Thursday, Nov. 5

During U.S. spacewalk 101, Menon and Kutryk will install and deploy the eighth and final IROSA on the 3B channel of the space station, completing the power augmentation upgrades.

The final two roll-out solar arrays will complete the space station’s power system augmentation. Together, the eight roll-out arrays will increase available power by up to 30%, boosting the station’s electric power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to approximately 215 kilowatts.

NASA will share additional coverage details about U.S. spacewalks 100 and 101 closer to each operation on the agency’s live events web page and the space station blog. The spacewalks will be the 285th and 286th conducted in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Anna Schneider
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov

Editor’s Note: This article was updated Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, to reflect a change to the event start time.

Students in Florida will hear from NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney as they answer prerecorded STEM questions while aboard the International Space Station.

The Earth-to-space call will begin at 12:30 p.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 16, and will stream live on the agency’s Learn With NASA YouTube channel.

This event is hosted by Sally Ride Elementary School in Orlando, Florida, for students in grades K-12, and the community. This unique opportunity aims to deepen understanding of space exploration and enhance awareness of STEM careers.

Media interested in covering the event must RSVP no later than 5 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Oct. 15, to Jenny Morgan at (407) 858-3100, or at jenny.morgan@ocps.net.

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.

For more information on NASA in-flight calls, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Editor’s Note: This article was updated Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, to reflect a change to the event start time.

Students in Florida will hear from NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney as they answer prerecorded STEM questions while aboard the International Space Station.

The Earth-to-space call will begin at 12:30 p.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 16, and will stream live on the agency’s Learn With NASA YouTube channel.

This event is hosted by Sally Ride Elementary School in Orlando, Florida, for students in grades K-12, and the community. This unique opportunity aims to deepen understanding of space exploration and enhance awareness of STEM careers.

Media interested in covering the event must RSVP no later than 5 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Oct. 15, to Jenny Morgan at (407) 858-3100, or at jenny.morgan@ocps.net.

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.

For more information on NASA in-flight calls, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

NASA’s SpaceX 35th commercial resupply mission lifted off at 6:33 a.m. EDT Tuesday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying more than 6,300 pounds of supplies and hardware, bound for the International Space Station. Following its successful launch, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will carry new scientific experiments, cargo, and the final pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays to the orbiting laboratory.

Dragon is scheduled to autonomously dock at 11 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 15, to the space-facing port of the space station’s Harmony module. NASA will stream rendezvous and docking coverage beginning at 9:15 a.m., through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

The final pair of solar arrays will complete the space station’s power system augmentation, boosting available electricity for research, operations, and the station’s safe, controlled deorbit. Astronauts will install the arrays during a series of spacewalks planned for later this fall.

Dragon also is delivering several new experiments, including hardware to manufacture artificial retinas in microgravity that could help restore vision for patients on Earth and 3D heart tissue models to advance large-scale drug testing on future space missions. Dragon also will carry materials to study how a new type of glass is formed in microgravity, and brain organoids that could uncover potential treatment targets for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis.

These are just a sample of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lay the groundwork for other agency deep space missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis program, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars, inspiring the world through discovery in a new Golden Age of innovation and exploration.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until mid-November when it will depart and return to Earth with time-critical research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of California.

Learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and crew, at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Steven Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-876-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov

NASA’s SpaceX 35th commercial resupply mission lifted off at 6:33 a.m. EDT Tuesday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying more than 6,300 pounds of supplies and hardware, bound for the International Space Station. Following its successful launch, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will carry new scientific experiments, cargo, and the final pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays to the orbiting laboratory.

Dragon is scheduled to autonomously dock at 11 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 15, to the space-facing port of the space station’s Harmony module. NASA will stream rendezvous and docking coverage beginning at 9:15 a.m., through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

The final pair of solar arrays will complete the space station’s power system augmentation, boosting available electricity for research, operations, and the station’s safe, controlled deorbit. Astronauts will install the arrays during a series of spacewalks planned for later this fall.

Dragon also is delivering several new experiments, including hardware to manufacture artificial retinas in microgravity that could help restore vision for patients on Earth and 3D heart tissue models to advance large-scale drug testing on future space missions. Dragon also will carry materials to study how a new type of glass is formed in microgravity, and brain organoids that could uncover potential treatment targets for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis.

These are just a sample of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lay the groundwork for other agency deep space missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis program, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars, inspiring the world through discovery in a new Golden Age of innovation and exploration.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until mid-November when it will depart and return to Earth with time-critical research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of California.

Learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and crew, at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Steven Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-876-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov

After more than seven months aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission safely splashed down Thursday in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles. The crew members will discuss their science mission during a news conference at 3:30 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Oct. 15, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“Jessica, Jack, Sophie, and Andrey spent 237 days living and working in orbit, traveled more than 100 million miles, advanced important science, and returned safely home because of the extraordinary expertise and competence of thousands across NASA, SpaceX, and our international partners,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Building the capability, experience, and confidence to do this repeatedly is exactly what will allow us to go farther, and I am grateful to Crew-12 and their families for their service to humanity’s greatest adventure.”

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev returned to Earth at 8:34 a.m. PDT. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew shortly after. Following standard postflight medical screenings, the crew will fly to shore before returning to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“NASA’s activities supporting the International Space Station — transporting crew, conducting impactful research, and maintaining critical national assets — enable the science, engineering, and risk‑reduction needed for future missions across the solar system,” said Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program at the agency’s Johnson Space Center. “We’re grateful for the dedication across the human spaceflight team that makes this possible, and we’re thrilled to welcome Jessica, Jack, Sophie, and Andrey home.”

During their 237-day mission, the four crew members traveled more than 100 million miles and completed more than 3,792 orbits around Earth. The mission was the second for Meir and Fedyaev and the first for Hathaway and Adenot. Crew-12 lifted off at 5:15 a.m. EST on Feb. 13 and docked to the orbiting laboratory a day later.

Crew‑12 logged hundreds of hours of scientific research to support human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and advance benefits for people on Earth. The crew members’ work included testing stem cell production for cell‑based therapies, demonstrating on‑demand IV fluid generation for future missions, and studying how the bacteria that causes pneumonia can lead to long‑term heart damage. The crew also conducted nutrition-focused research and examined how physical characteristics may affect blood flow during spaceflight to help keep astronauts safe and healthy on future missions. Research conducted aboard the space station advances knowledge and demonstrates new technologies that enable us to prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Meir completed four spacewalks, bringing her career total to seven. That places her third all-time in total spacewalks among women at NASA, behind former agency astronauts Peggy Whitson and Suni Williams. Adenot completed three spacewalks, becoming the first French woman to venture outside the orbital outpost.

United States-based media interested in attending the crew news conference in person with Meir, Hathaway, and Fedyaev, must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Oct. 13, at jsc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. Media joining by phone must request dial-in details by 9:30 a.m., Oct. 15. To ask a question, media must join no later than 15 minutes before the start of the news conference. The agency’s media credentialing policy is available online. Adenot will return to Europe and not be available during the news conference.

NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program provides reliable access to space, maximizing the use of the International Space Station for research and development by partnering with private U.S. companies, including SpaceX, to transport astronauts to and from the space station.

Learn more about NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

-end-

Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov

Steven Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov

After more than seven months aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission safely splashed down Thursday in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles. The crew members will discuss their science mission during a news conference at 3:30 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Oct. 15, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“Jessica, Jack, Sophie, and Andrey spent 237 days living and working in orbit, traveled more than 100 million miles, advanced important science, and returned safely home because of the extraordinary expertise and competence of thousands across NASA, SpaceX, and our international partners,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Building the capability, experience, and confidence to do this repeatedly is exactly what will allow us to go farther, and I am grateful to Crew-12 and their families for their service to humanity’s greatest adventure.”

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev returned to Earth at 8:34 a.m. PDT. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew shortly after. Following standard postflight medical screenings, the crew will fly to shore before returning to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“NASA’s activities supporting the International Space Station — transporting crew, conducting impactful research, and maintaining critical national assets — enable the science, engineering, and risk‑reduction needed for future missions across the solar system,” said Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program at the agency’s Johnson Space Center. “We’re grateful for the dedication across the human spaceflight team that makes this possible, and we’re thrilled to welcome Jessica, Jack, Sophie, and Andrey home.”

During their 237-day mission, the four crew members traveled more than 100 million miles and completed more than 3,792 orbits around Earth. The mission was the second for Meir and Fedyaev and the first for Hathaway and Adenot. Crew-12 lifted off at 5:15 a.m. EST on Feb. 13 and docked to the orbiting laboratory a day later.

Crew‑12 logged hundreds of hours of scientific research to support human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and advance benefits for people on Earth. The crew members’ work included testing stem cell production for cell‑based therapies, demonstrating on‑demand IV fluid generation for future missions, and studying how the bacteria that causes pneumonia can lead to long‑term heart damage. The crew also conducted nutrition-focused research and examined how physical characteristics may affect blood flow during spaceflight to help keep astronauts safe and healthy on future missions. Research conducted aboard the space station advances knowledge and demonstrates new technologies that enable us to prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Meir completed four spacewalks, bringing her career total to seven. That places her third all-time in total spacewalks among women at NASA, behind former agency astronauts Peggy Whitson and Suni Williams. Adenot completed three spacewalks, becoming the first French woman to venture outside the orbital outpost.

United States-based media interested in attending the crew news conference in person with Meir, Hathaway, and Fedyaev, must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Oct. 13, at jsc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. Media joining by phone must request dial-in details by 9:30 a.m., Oct. 15. To ask a question, media must join no later than 15 minutes before the start of the news conference. The agency’s media credentialing policy is available online. Adenot will return to Europe and not be available during the news conference.

NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program provides reliable access to space, maximizing the use of the International Space Station for research and development by partnering with private U.S. companies, including SpaceX, to transport astronauts to and from the space station.

Learn more about NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

-end-

Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov

Steven Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov