NASA and its international partners will receive scientific research samples and hardware when a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft departs the International Space Station on Thursday, Feb. 26, and returns to Earth.
Watch NASA’s live coverage of the undocking and departure of the agency’s 33rd SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services mission starting at 11:45 a.m. EST on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to watch NASA content on a variety of online platforms, including social media.
A Dragon spacecraft will autonomously undock from the Harmony module’s forward-facing port at 12:05 p.m. and fire its thrusters to move safely away from the space station. Splashdown is scheduled later that evening at approximately 11:44 p.m. PST off the California coast. NASA will not stream the splashdown but will post updates on its space station blog.
Several scientific investigations are returning aboard Dragon, offering insights that could help shape future space exploration and life on Earth. The Euro Material Ageing study exposed 141 samples to space for a year to examine how coatings, insulation, and 3D-printed materials degrade, while Thailand’s Liquid Crystals experiment observed the stability of films used in electronics in microgravity. Both could lead to stronger spacecraft, better displays, and improved optical devices on future missions.
Frozen samples from the Stellar Stem Cells Mission 2 experiment are helping study how microgravity affects brain and heart stem cell growth, which could improve treatments for diseases such as ALS and Parkinson’s disease. The SpaceDuino project is paving the way for more low-cost instruments after successfully measuring vibrations using a commercially available single-board computer and open-source software. The Moon Microscope also successfully tested a portable diagnostic kit for blood analysis in space that could support future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The Dragon spacecraft supporting the mission also introduced a new capability to reboost the space station, helping maintain its altitude and counter atmospheric drag, which is critical for safe operations and the long-term sustainability of the orbital complex. During its time docked to the station, Dragon performed six reboosts — five in 2025 and a final maneuver on Jan. 23 — before preparations for its departure began.
Loaded with thousands of pounds of crew supplies, science experiments, and equipment, the spacecraft arrived at the station on Aug. 25, 2025, following its launch a day earlier on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies concentrate on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing its resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign in preparation for future astronaut missions to Mars.
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Josh Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
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Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
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sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov