# Expedition 70

Expedition 70 was the 70th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station. The expedition began with the departure of Soyuz MS-23 on 27 September 2023 with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen taking over the ISS command. It ended with the departure of Soyuz MS-24 on 6 April 2024.

## Background, Crew and Events

Initially, the expedition consisted of Andreas and his three SpaceX Crew-7 crewmates, Jasmin Moghbeli, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov from America, Japan, and Russia respectively, as well as Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko (who later assumed the ISS command) and Nikolai Chub (both on a year long ISS mission), and another American astronaut Loral O'Hara, who launched aboard Soyuz MS-24 on September 15, 2023 and were transferred from Expedition 69 alongside the SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts.
However, even after several months of outfitting EVAs and RTOd heat radiator installation, six months later on 9 October 2023, the Nauka RTOd radiator malfunctioned before active use of Nauka (the purpose of RTOd installation is to radiate heat from Nauka experiments). The malfunction, a leak, rendered the RTOd radiator unusable for Nauka. This is the third ISS radiator leak after Soyuz MS-22 and Progress MS-21 radiator leaks. If a spare RTOd is not available, Nauka experiments will have to rely on Nauka's main launch radiator and the module could never be utilized to its full capacity.
The crew was later replenished by subsequent crew rotation missions in the expedition, SpaceX Crew-8, consisting of American astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, and Soyuz MS-25, consisting of Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, Belarusian space tourist Marina Vasilevskaya, and American astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson. Originally, the Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test was supposed to dock during the expedition. Instead, it was again moved farther down the vehicle schedule to May during Expedition 71. The space station was also visited by a non-expedition crew, Axiom Mission 3, consisting of former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría (who previously commanded the station during Expedition 14), Italian astronaut Walter Villadei, ESA Swedish Project astronaut Marcus Wandt, and Turkish astronaut Alper Gezeravcı.

## Events manifest

Events involving crewed spacecraft are listed in bold.
Previous mission: Expedition 69
27 September 2023 – Soyuz MS-23 Undocking, official switch from Expedition 69
9 October 2023 – Nauka outfitting RtoD Add-on Heat Radiator Leak Event
25/26 October 2023 – EVA 1 (VKD-61) Kononenko/Chub: 7 hrs, 41 mins
1 November 2023 – EVA 2 (US-89) Moghbeli/O'Hara: 6 hrs, 42 mins
11 November 2023 – CRS SpX-29 Docking
29 November 2023 – Progress MS-23/84P Undocking
3 December 2023 – Progress MS-25/86P Docking
21 December 2023 – CRS SpX-29 Undocking
22 December 2023 – CRS NG-19 Unberthing & Release
20 January 2024 – Axiom Mission 3 Docking (Non-Expedition crew)
1 February 2024 – CRS Cygnus NG-20 Capture & Berthing
7 February 2024 – Axiom Mission 3 Undocking (Non-Expedition crew)
13 February 2024 – Progress MS-24/85P Undocking
17 February 2024 – Progress MS-26/87P Docking
5 March 2024 – SpaceX Crew-8 Docking
10 March 2024 – ISS Expedition 70 Change of Command Ceremony from Andreas Mogensen to Oleg Kononenko
11 March 2024 – SpaceX Crew-7 Undocking
23 March 2024 – CRS SpX-30 Docking
25 March 2024 – Soyuz MS-25 Docking (Expedition 70/71 & ISS EP-21)
29 March 2024 – Kononenko and Chub's seat liner from Soyuz MS-24 swapped with Novitsky and Vasilevskaya's seat liner from Soyuz MS-25 for MS-24 landing
6 April 2024 – Soyuz MS-24 Undocking, official switch to Expedition 71
Next: Expedition 71

## Crew

| Flight | Astronaut | Increment 70a | Increment 70b | Increment 70c | Increment 70d |
| Flight | Astronaut | 27 Sep 2023 - 5 Mar 2024 | 5 - 11 Mar 2024 | 11 - 25 Mar 2024 | 25 Mar - 6 Apr 2024 |
| Soyuz MS-24 | Oleg Kononenko, Roscosmos Fifth spaceflight | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Commander | Commander |
| Soyuz MS-24 | Nikolai Chub, Roscosmos First spaceflight | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer |
| Soyuz MS-24 | Loral O'Hara, NASA First spaceflight | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer |
| SpaceX Crew-7 | Jasmin Moghbeli, NASA First spaceflight | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Off Station | Off Station |
| SpaceX Crew-7 | Andreas Mogensen, ESA Second spaceflight | Commander | Commander | Off Station | Off Station |
| SpaceX Crew-7 | Satoshi Furukawa, JAXA Second spaceflight | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Off Station | Off Station |
| SpaceX Crew-7 | Konstantin Borisov, Roscosmos First spaceflight | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Off Station | Off Station |
| SpaceX Crew-8 | Matthew Dominick, NASA First spaceflight | Off Station | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer |
| SpaceX Crew-8 | Michael Barratt, NASA Third spaceflight | Off Station | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer |
| SpaceX Crew-8 | Jeanette Epps, NASA First spaceflight | Off Station | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer |
| SpaceX Crew-8 | Alexander Grebenkin, Roscosmos First spaceflight | Off Station | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer | Flight Engineer |
| Soyuz MS-25 | Tracy Caldwell-Dyson, NASA Third spaceflight | Off Station | Off Station | Off Station | Flight Engineer |
Besides the expedition crew, Crew Dragon visited the station, carrying Axiom Mission 3, consisting of Michael López-Alegría of Axiom Space (formerly NASA), Walter Villadei of the Italian Ministry of Defence, Alper Gezeravcı of the Turkish Space Agency, and Marcus Wandt of the Swedish National Space Agency.
The Soyuz MS-25 vehicle carried expedition member Tracy Caldwell-Dyson and visitors Oleg Novitsky of Roscosmos and Marina Vasilevskaya, a flight attendant trained by the Belarus Space Agency for ISS EP-21. One week after docking, Novitsky and Vasilevskaya returned with expedition member Loral O'Hara on the Soyuz MS-24 vehicle. Meanwhile, Kononenko and Chub, who launched on MS-24, returned on the MS-25 vehicle.

## Vehicle manifest

For the first time, during 25 March–6 April 2024, all seven currently active ports of ISS were occupied.
| Vehicle | Purpose | Port | Docking/capture date | Undocking date |
| Vehicles inherited from Expedition 69 |||||
| Progress MS-23/84P | Cargo | Poisk zenith | 24 May 2023 | 29 Nov 2023 |
| CRS NG-19 | Cargo | Unity nadir | 4 Aug 2023 | 22 Dec 2023 |
| Progress MS-24/85P | Cargo | Zvezda aft | 25 Aug 2023 | 13 Feb 2024 |
| SpaceX Crew-7 "Endurance" | Exp. 69/70 crew | Harmony zenith | 27 Aug 2023 | 11 Mar 2024 |
| Soyuz MS-24/70S "Antares" | Exp. 69/70 crew | Rassvet nadir | 15 Sep 2023 | 6 Apr 2024 |
| Vehicles docked during Expedition 70 |||||
| CRS SpX-29 | Cargo | Harmony forward | 11 Nov 2023 | 21 Dec 2023 |
| Progress MS-25/86P | Cargo | Poisk zenith | 3 Dec 2023 | 28 May 2024 (Exp. 71) |
| Ax-3 "Freedom" | Visiting commercial mission | Harmony forward | 20 Jan 2024 | 7 Feb 2024 |
| CRS NG-20 | Cargo | Unity nadir | 1 Feb 2024 | 12 Jul 2024 (Exp. 71) |
| Progress MS-26/87P | Cargo | Zvezda aft | 17 Feb 2024 | 13 Aug 2024 (Exp. 71) |
| SpaceX Crew-8 "Endeavour" | Exp. 70/71 crew | Harmony forward | 5 Mar 2024 | 23 Oct 2024 (Exp. 72) |
| CRS SpX-30 | Cargo | Harmony zenith | 23 Mar 2024 | 28 Apr 2024 (Exp. 71) |
| Soyuz MS-25/71S "Kazbek" | Exp. 70/71 crew, Visiting Expedition 21 | Prichal nadir | 25 Mar 2024 | 23 Sep 2024 (Exp. 71) |
| Segment | US Orbital Segment | US Orbital Segment | US Orbital Segment | US Orbital Segment | Russian Segment | Russian Segment | Russian Segment | Russian Segment |
| Period | Harmony forward | Harmony zenith | Harmony nadir | Unity nadir | Rassvet nadir | Prichal nadir | Poisk zenith | Zvezda aft |
| 27 Sep–11 Nov 2023 | Vacant | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | CRS NG-19 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-23/84P | Progress MS-24/85P |
| 11–29 Nov 2023 | CRS SpX-29 | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | CRS NG-19 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-23/84P | Progress MS-24/85P |
| 29 Nov–3 Dec 2023 | CRS SpX-29 | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | CRS NG-19 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Vacant | Progress MS-24/85P |
| 3–21 Dec 2023 | CRS SpX-29 | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | CRS NG-19 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-25/86P | Progress MS-24/85P |
| 21–22 Dec 2023 | Vacant | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | CRS NG-19 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-25/86P | Progress MS-24/85P |
| 22 Dec 2023–20 Jan 2024 | Vacant | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | Vacant | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-25/86P | Progress MS-24/85P |
| 20 Jan–1 Feb 2024 | Ax-3 | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | Vacant | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-25/86P | Progress MS-24/85P |
| 1–7 Feb 2024 | Ax-3 | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | CRS NG-20 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-25/86P | Progress MS-24/85P |
| 7–13 Feb 2024 | Vacant | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | CRS NG-20 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-25/86P | Progress MS-24/85P |
| 13–17 Feb 2024 | Vacant | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | CRS NG-20 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-25/86P | Vacant |
| 17 Feb–5 Mar 2024 | Vacant | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | CRS NG-20 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-25/86P | Progress MS-26/87P |
| 5–11 Mar 2024 | SpaceX Crew-8 | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | CRS NG-20 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-25/86P | Progress MS-26/87P |
| 11–23 Mar 2024 | SpaceX Crew-8 | Vacant | Vacant | CRS NG-20 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-25/86P | Progress MS-26/87P |
| 23–25 Mar 2024 | SpaceX Crew-8 | CRS SpX-30 | Vacant | CRS NG-20 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-25/86P | Progress MS-26/87P |
| 25 Mar–6 Apr 2024 | SpaceX Crew-8 | CRS SpX-30 | Vacant | CRS NG-20 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Soyuz MS-25/71S | Progress MS-25/86P | Progress MS-26/87P |
The Prichal aft, forward, starboard, and aft ports all have yet to be used since the module originally docked to the station and are not included in the table.