Expedition 60 was the 60th long‑duration increment of human presence aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The expedition commenced on 23 June 2019, marked by the departure of the Soyuz MS‑12 spacecraft, and concluded on 3 October 2019 with the undocking of Soyuz MS‑13.
Mission timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 23 June 2019 | Expedition 60 began as Soyuz MS‑12 (carrying Anton Shkaplerov, Alexey Ovchinin and Nick Hague) departed the ISS. |
| 20 July 2019 | Soyuz MS‑13 launched, delivering Oleg Kononenko (Roscosmos), Anne McClain (NASA) and David Saint‑Jacques (CSA) to the station. |
| 25 September 2019 | Soyuz MS‑15 launched, carrying Christina Koch (NASA) and Jessica Meir (NASA). They joined Expedition 60 for the final week. |
| 3 October 2019 | Expedition 60 ended as Soyuz MS‑13 departed, returning Kononenko, McClain and Saint‑Jacques to Earth. |
Crew members
The expedition was staffed by six astronauts and cosmonauts over its duration:
| Crew member | Nationality | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Oleg Kononenko | Russian (Roscosmos) | Commander (from 20 July 2019) |
| Anne McClain | United States (NASA) | Flight Engineer |
| David Saint‑Jacques | Canadian (CSA) | Flight Engineer |
| Christina Koch | United States (NASA) | Flight Engineer (joined 25 Sept 2019) |
| Jessica Meir | United States (NASA) | Flight Engineer (joined 25 Sept 2019) |
| Anton Shkaplerov | Russian (Roscosmos) – remained on board until 23 June 2019 when his departure marked the start of the expedition. |
Key activities and accomplishments
- Scientific research – The crew continued a wide range of investigations in microgravity, including studies on protein crystal growth, fluid dynamics, human physiology, and Earth observation.
- Extravehicular activities (EVAs) – Expedition 60 featured two United States spacewalks conducted by McClain and Saint‑Jacques in August 2019, focusing on the installation of new communications hardware and maintenance of the station’s external payloads.
- Commercial cargo – During the expedition, the SpaceX CRS‑18 and Northrop Grumman NG‑11 cargo missions delivered supplies, experiments, and hardware to the ISS.
- International cooperation – The mission maintained continuous collaboration among the space agencies of the United States (NASA), Russia (Roscosmos), Canada (CSA), and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Launch vehicles
- Soyuz MS‑13 – launched on a Soyuz‑2.1a rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakhstan) on 20 July 2019.
- Soyuz MS‑15 – launched on a Soyuz‑2.1a rocket from Baikonur on 25 September 2019.
Mission significance
Expedition 60 sustained the uninterrupted human presence aboard the ISS that began in 2000, and it served as a transitional period preceding the arrival of the ISS’s first commercial crew vehicles (SpaceX Crew‑1, later in 2020). The expedition’s scientific output contributed to biomedical research relevant to future long‑duration spaceflight, including missions to the Moon and Mars.