Space Station Photos: Expedition 54 Crew in Orbit

The Expedition 54 Crewmembers

Robert Markowitz/NASA

Expedition 54 to the International Space Station is a six-person mission that began in December 2017 and will continue through March 2018, when Expedition 55 begins. On May 8, 2017, the Expedition 54 crew posed for a group portrait. From left to right: NASA astronauts Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei, Russian cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin and Anton Shkaplerov, NASA astronaut Scott Tingle and Japanese taikonaut Norishige Kanai.

'A Band of Brothers'

Scott Tingle/NASA/Twitter via @Astro_Maker

The six members of Expedition 54 pose for a fun group photo at the International Space Station.

Expedition 54/55 Prime Crewmembers

NASA

The prime crew for Expedition 54/55 consists of Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (left), Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos (center) and Scott Tingle of NASA (right). They launched to the ISS on Dec. 17, 2017 in the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft and arrived two days later, just in time to spend the holidays in space.

Expedition 53/54 Prime Crewmembers

NASA

The first half of the Expedition 54 crew arrived at the space station on Sept. 12, 2017 aboard the Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft. The Expedition 53/54 prime crewmembers (from left): NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei.

Welcome to Space!

NASA TV

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, NASA astronaut Scott Tingle and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency arrives at the International Space Station on Dec. 19, 2017, just in time for the holidays.

Procedural Tests

Courtesy of Roscosmos

In preparation for the Dec. 17 launch and a five-month mission on the International Space Station, NASA's Scott Tingle and JAXA's Norishige Kanai sit in the Soyuz MS-07 at the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Expedition 54 Phones Home

NASA TV

The International Space Station's full Expedition 54 crew speaks to family members and mission officials from the Zvezda control module after the arrival of NASA astronaut Scott Tingle (bottom left), cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (bottom center) and Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai (bottom right) on Dec. 19, 2017. Also pictured are: NASA astronauts Joe Acaba (top left), cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin (top center) and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei.

Ready for the Trip

Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

Outside the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, the backup and prime crewmembers for Expedition 54/55 pose, ready for the journey to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site. From left to right the backup crew — Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, Jeanette Epps of NASA and Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) — stand with prime crewmembers — Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Agency (JAXA), Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos and Scott Tingle of NASA.

Getting Ready

Courtesy of Roscosmos

NASA astronaut Scott Tingle climbs into the Soyuz MS-07 craft during a fit check dress rehearsal. JAXA's Norishige Kanai watches from the background.

The Way Up

Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

Expedition 54/55 prime and backup crewmembers pose for photos with the Soyuz rocket's first stage. The rocket would launch them to the ISS on Dec. 17, 2017.

Roll on Out

Joel Kowsky/NASA

On Dec. 15, 2017, the Soyuz rocket, aboard a train, is rolled out to the launch pad at Baikonur in preparation for the Dec. 17, 2017 launch of the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft that would carry the Expedition 54/55 crewmembers into space.

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Christine Lunsford
Producer and Contributing Writer

Christine Lunsford joined the Space.com team in 2010 as a freelance producer and later became a contributing writer, covering astrophotography images, astronomy photos and amazing space galleries and more. During her more than 10 years with Space.com, oversaw the site's monthly skywatching updates and produced overnight features and stories on the latest space discoveries. She enjoys learning about subjects of all kinds.