National Aeronautics and Space Administration

International Space Station

EXPEDITION 65began in April 2021 and ends in October 2021. This expedition will include research investigations focused on biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences 

and technology development, providing the foundation for continuing human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars. 

THE CREW:

During Expedition 65, crew members will work on experiments that could 

help us develop better pharmaceuticals and therapies for treating diseases on 

Earth, studies of cotton root systems that could identify varieties of plants that 

require less water and pesticides. They will also test a portable ultrasound 

technology, and will install new roll-out solar arrays based on a design tested 

on the orbiting laboratory in 2017.

THE SCIENCE:

What are some investigations 

the crew is operating?

Born: Khabarovsk, Russia

Spaceflights: First flight

Pyotr Dubrov (Roscosmos) – Flight Engineer

[MISSION SUMMARY]

Born: Cherven, Belarus

Spaceflights: Exp. 33/34, 50/51

Bio: https://go.nasa.gov/3crxMuJ

Oleg Novitskiy (Roscosmos) – Flight Engineer

Born: Falls Church, Virginia

Spaceflights: Exp. 53/54 

Bio: https://go.nasa.gov/2vzY0a8

Twitter: @Astro_Sabot

Mark Vande Hei (NASA) – Flight Engineer

Born: Killeen, Texas

Spaceflights: STS-126, Exp. 49/50

Bio: https://go.nasa.gov/3srcdja

Twitter: @astro_kimbrough

Shane Kimbrough (NASA) – Flight Engineer

Born: Rouen, France

Spaceflights: Exp. 50/51

Bio: https://go.nasa.gov/3lZ02rG

Twitter: @Thom_astro

Thomas Pesquet (ESA) – Flight Engineer

Born: Tokyo, Japan

Spaceflights: STS-124, Exp. 32/23 

Bio: https://go.nasa.gov/3cmYQev

Twitter: @Aki_Hoshide

Akihiko Hoshide (JAXA) – Commander

Born: Honolulu, Hawaii

Spaceflights: STS-125

Bio: https://go.nasa.gov/3ssq1dm

Twitter: @Astro_Megan

Megan McArthur (NASA) – Flight Engineer
National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

Houston, Texas 77058

www.nasa.gov

NP-2021-04-004-JSC

International

Space Station

Mission

Summary

■ Targeting Improved Cotton Through On-orbit Cultivation

Target, the retail store, is funding the investigation Targeting Improved 

Cotton Through On-orbit Cultivation that studies how cotton root system 

structure affects plant resilience, water-use, and carbon storing. Roots 

play a central role in plant stress resistance and survival, but their 

growth patterns depend upon gravity. This investigation examines how 

environmental factors and genes control development of roots in the 

absence of gravity. In order to explore deeper into space, humans need 

to be able to grow plants for food and oxygen production. The general 

knowledge of how gravity affects the structure and growth of plant roots 

gained in this investigation could contribute to future efforts to grow 

plants in space. What we learn could also enable the development of 

more robust cotton varieties that require less water and pesticide use.

Butterfly IQ Ultrasound

The Butterfly IQ Ultrasound investigation demonstrates the effectiveness 

of a portable ultrasound device used in conjunction with a mobile 

computing device in the space environment. The investigation examines 

ease of probe handling, quality of ultrasound images, and effectiveness 

of just-in-time instructions for autonomous use by the crew. Such 

commercial off-the-shelf technology could provide important medical 

capabilities for future exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit. where 

immediate ground support is not an option.

Tissue Chips

An important scientific focus of Expedition 65 is continuing a series of 

Tissue Chips in Space studies. Tissue chips are small models of human 

organs containing multiple cell types that behave much the same as 

they do in the body. These chips may make it possible to identify safe 

and effective therapeutics – drugs or vaccines – much more quickly 

than the standard process. A partnership between the ISS National Lab 

and the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing 

Translational Sciences (NCATS) has sent tissue chips to the space 

station to analyze the effects of microgravity on human health and 

translate that to improvements on Earth. Investigations are using tissue 

chips to study aging of the immune system, lung immune response, 

musculoskeletal disease, kidney function, muscle loss or sarcopenia, 

and more. 

iROSA

Another important element of Crew-2’s mission is updating the station’s 

solar power system by installing the ISS Roll-out Solar Array (iROSA) 

– compact panels that roll open like a yoga mat. In 2017, the basic 

design underwent testing on the space station to determine its strength 

and durability. The new solar arrays will be positioned in front of six 

of the current arrays, and will use the existing sun tracking, power 

distribution, and channelization. This approach is similar to the one used 

to upgrade the station’s external television cameras to high definition, 

using the existing power and control mechanisms. Each new solar array 

will produce more than 20 kilowatts of electricity, eventually totaling 

120 kilowatts (120,000 watts) of augmented power during orbital 

daytime. The Expedition 65 crew is scheduled to begin preparations for 

supplementing the station’s existing rigid panels this summer with the 

first pair of six new arrays.

The International Space Station Expedition 65 patch depicts the space station as it appears 

during the time the crew will be onboard. The space station flying over the Earth represents 

the overall reason for having a space station; to benefit the world through scientific research 

and international cooperation in space. When this expedition begins, the space station will have 

provided continued human presence in space for more than twenty years. Blue, the background 

color of the patch, symbolizes reliability. The stars represent the crew onboard the space station, 

as well as mission control centers located on three continents. Those stars, in that field of blue, 

also symbolize the thousands of space workers throughout the space station partnership who 

continue to contribute to the success of our International Space Station.

Credits: NASA

THE MISSION PATCH: