Expedition 63

Occurred 4 years ago

The Expedition 63 crew explored 3D printing techniques for parts and supplies and tested the use of a new toilet to support deep space missions. Biological samples were collected from the crew to help doctors monitor crew health. The astronauts also studied the possibility of growing artificial organs in space.

Mission Type

ISS Expedition

meet the crew

Chris Cassidy, Anatoly Ivanishin, Ivan Vagner

Launch

April 9, 2020

Landing

Oct. 21, 2020

The official Expedition 63 crew portrait with (clockwise from bottom left) Doug Hurley of NASA, Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, Chris Cassidy of NASA, Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos and Bob Behnken of NASA.
NASA

Official Expedition 63 crew insignia — The official insignia of the Expedition 63 mission aboard the International Space Station.
NASA

Crew Members

Chris Cassidy, Commander
Doug Hurley, Flight Engineer
Bob Behnken, Flight Engineer
Anatoly Ivanishin, Flight Engineer
Ivan Vagner, Flight Engineer

Crew and Cargo Missions

10/21/20 – Exp 63 Land
10/14/20 – Exp 64 Launch/Dock
10/5/20 – Cygnus CRS-14 Capture
10/2/20 – Cygnus CRS-14 Launch
8/18/20 – HTV-9 Kounotori Release
8/2/20 — SpaceX DM-2 Splashdown
8/1/20 — SpaceX DM-2 Undock
7/23/20 – ISS Progress 76 Launch/Dock
7/8/20 – ISS Progress 74 Undock
5/31/20 – SpaceX DM-2 Dock
5/30/20 – SpaceX DM-2 Launch
5/25/20 – HTV-9 Kounotori Capture
5/20/20 – HTV-9 Kounotori Launch
5/11/20 – Cygnus CRS-13 Release
4/25/20 – ISS Progress 75 Launch/Dock

Spacewalks

Date: July 21, 2020
Duration: 5 hours, 29 minutes
Spacewalkers: Bob Behnken, Chris Cassidy

Date: July 16, 2020
Duration: 6 hours
Spacewalkers: Bob Behnken, Chris Cassidy

Date: July 1, 2020
Duration: 6 hours, 1 minute
Spacewalkers: Chris Cassidy, Bob Behnken

Date: June 26, 2020
Duration: 6 hours, 7 minutes
Spacewalkers: Chris Cassidy, Bob Behnken

Expedition 63 Image Gallery

470 Images

Go To Gallery

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Expedition 63 Resources

Mission Blogs

The daily blog updates for Expedition 63 highlighting crew and cargo missions, spacewalks, and advanced space research.

The sun's first rays burst over the Earth's horizon

Mission Summary

Get an overview of the Expedition, its crew and the activities they are working on during this mission to the International Space Station.

The Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SoFIE) Growth and Extinction Limits (GEL) experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) studies flame growth and extinction in an effort to improve fire safety in space. This image shows a sequence of snapshots taken about 3 seconds apart. During this test point, the ambient oxygen concentration starts relatively high (28%). Initially, the flame is seen as yellow and sooty. As the ambient pressure is reduced, the flame becomes bluer and continues to shrink until fully extinguished. This gives researchers pressure limit data points for flame extinction that could help improve crew and spacecraft safety for future exploration missions.

Mission Science

Learn more about the range of microgravity science encompassing human research, space phsyics, and more the Expedition 63 crew has conducted.

One of the Expedition 41 crew members aboard the International Space Station, flying at an altitude of 222 nautical miles above a point in the Atlantic Ocean several hundred miles off the coast of Africa near the Tropic of Cancer, photographed this eye-catching panorama of the night sky and the Milky Way on Sept. 27. NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, flight engineer, tweeted the image, which was taken with an electronic still camera, set with a 24mm focal length. In his accompanying comments, Wiseman stated, "Sahara sands make the Earth glow orange."

Mission Imagery

During Expedition 63, the crew took images of the Earth views, the orbiting station, their daily lives aboard and the experiments they conducted during their stay, plus so much more. Check out some of the image highlights from Expedition 63 in the gallery.