International Space Station command handed to astronaut Jessica Meir after crew departs on Soyuz

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir received the ceremonial key from Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud‑Sverchkov on 26 July 2026, officially becoming commander of the International Space Station and leading Expedition 75 through the summer. The handover marked the end of Expedition 74, whose crew – NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud‑Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev – undocked aboard the Soyuz MS‑28 spacecraft. After a 241‑day mission they completed a parachute‑assisted landing near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. During the expedition the crew performed two spacewalks, contributed to cancer‑research experiments and upgraded the station’s power system and Canadarm2 robotic arm. The transition enables the new crew to continue research on in‑space manufacturing, crew‑health monitoring and future Artemis‑to‑Mars missions.