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Expedition 56 Expedition 56 was a long-duration expedition to the International Space Station held during 2018 that involved sustained research, vehicle operations, and international cooperation involving Roscosmos, NASA, JAXA, European Space Agency, and CSA personnel. The increment overlapped with crew rotations involving Soyuz MS flights, SpaceX Dragon resupply missions, and coordination with partners including Boeing and Arianespace for logistics and launch manifest planning. Activities combined planned scientific investigations supported by ISS National Laboratory partners, maintenance tasks tied to orbital systems like the European Robotic Arm concept, and outreach linking institutions such as Smithsonian Institution, NASA Ames Research Center, and Canadian Space Agency education programs.
The crew complement included multinational flight engineers and commanders drawn from Roscosmos, NASA, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Canadian Space Agency, uplifted via crew exchange missions such as Soyuz MS-09 and Soyuz MS-10 contingency planning scenarios. Key individuals for the increment were seasoned cosmonauts with backgrounds at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, veteran NASA astronauts from Johnson Space Center, and ESA specialists trained at European Astronaut Centre. Crew members previously served on missions like Expedition 54, Expedition 55, and participated in training events including simulations at Star City (Russia), joint operations with Roscosmos Energia, and analog tests at NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Inside the station, crew roles interfaced with payload managers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, experiment leads at JAXA Tsukuba Space Center, and flight controllers across Mission Control Center (Houston) and TsUP.
Primary objectives emphasized continuous habitation of the International Space Station to support long-duration human spaceflight research aligned with programs at NASA Human Research Program, European Space Agency Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration, and Roscosmos Human Spaceflight Division. Scientific goals included microgravity investigations managed by ISS U.S. National Laboratory, biomedical studies supported by National Institutes of Health, materials science experiments coordinated with MIT, and Earth observation campaigns involving NOAA sensors and experiments from JAXA Earth Observation Center. Technology demonstration objectives included validation of life support upgrades tied to Environmental Control and Life Support System, testing of payload handling with Canadarm2 operations, and inspection workflows coordinated with Flight Global and industry partners such as Boeing CST-100 Starliner planning teams.
The increment spanned key milestones including handover operations following transition from Expedition 55 crews, arrivals and departures of Soyuz spacecraft, and multiple Commercial Resupply Services missions such as SpaceX CRS-14 and Orbital ATK Cygnus flights. Notable events encompassed payload deliveries from contractors including Northrop Grumman, laboratory experiment activations logged with NASA Payload Operations Center, and scheduling interactions with European Space Operations Centre for automated transfer sequences. The period required coordination related to anomalies referenced in International Space Station anomaly lists and emergency preparedness rehearsals with responders at Johnson Space Center and Roscosmos Mission Control Center.
The station hosted a manifest of visiting vehicles including Soyuz MS crew transports, Progress MS cargo ships provided by Roscosmos, Commercial Resupply Services freighters like SpaceX Dragon CRS, Northrop Grumman Cygnus logistics craft, and prospective commercial crew vehicles from SpaceX Dragon 2 and Boeing CST-100 Starliner programs in development. Docking and berthing operations involved modules such as Harmony (ISS module), Zvezda (ISS module), Poisk (ISS module), and coordination with Zarya and Columbus (ISS module) for payload transfers. Rendezvous procedures used sensors and guidance systems derived from technologies tested on missions like Shuttle-Mir and operationalized with assistance from Mission Control Center (Moscow).
Research encompassed biotechnology investigations with teams from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pharmaceutical partners including Merck & Co., plant biology experiments linked to Wageningen University protocols, and fluid physics studies supported by ESA Microgravity User Support Center. Biomedical payloads examined musculoskeletal effects referenced in studies by National Institutes of Health and University of California, San Diego researchers, while materials experiments contributed to work by Northwestern University and CERN-affiliated collaborations. Earth observation and remote sensing efforts coordinated with US Geological Survey, European Space Agency Earth Observation Programme, and Japan Meteorological Agency furnished datasets for climate and disaster response analysis used by United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs stakeholders.
Extravehicular activities during the increment included spacewalks conducted from airlocks like Quest (ISS module), tasks to service external systems such as radiators and truss segments including Integrated Truss Structure, and maintenance of power arrays from providers linked to Rolls-Royce and aerospace suppliers. EVAs leveraged suits and procedures derived from Extravehicular Mobility Unit heritage, coordinated with EVA planners at Johnson Space Center, and involved contingency training reflecting lessons from STS-120 and STS-134 operations. Ground teams at Mission Control Center (Houston) and TsUP supported telerobotic tasks using Canadarm2 and Dextre for fine manipulation.
The mission insignia reflected symbolism drawn from partner agencies including Roscosmos, NASA, European Space Agency, and JAXA, incorporating imagery of the International Space Station orbital configuration, orbital inclination markers used in Low Earth Orbit operations, and stylized representations of crew national emblems such as those of Russia, United States, Japan, Canada, and European Union. Patch designers collaborated with institutions like Smithsonian Institution and commercial artists contracted through NASA Office of Communications to create insignia that was displayed on flight suits, mission patches, and public outreach materials distributed through centers like Kennedy Space Center and JAXA Public Affairs.