NASA Crew-11 Astronauts Begin Pre-Launch Quarantine Ahead of July 2025 Flight

NASA’s subsequent four-person astronaut crew has entered quarantine as they put together for launch. On July 17, 2025, the Crew-11 workforce – led by NASA astronaut Zena Cardman (commander) alongside NASA pilot Nick Hague and mission specialists Thomas Pesquet (ESA) and Alexander Grebenkin (Roscosmos) – started a two-week health-stabilization protocol at Johnson Space Center in Houston. This “health stabilization” or quarantine interval is a routine, Apollo-era observe to make sure the crew and station stay free of sickness. The crew will proceed closing coaching earlier than touring to Kennedy Space Center, with a launch now focusing on late July 2025 (no sooner than July 31).

Preflight Quarantine and Training

According to NASA’s official website, the Crew-11 astronauts will spend about 14 days remoted earlier than liftoff, limiting exterior contact and present process medical screenings. NASA notes this prevents any pre-launch sicknesses from affecting the spaceflight or the International Space Station (ISS) crew. The quarantine is one of the final main milestones earlier than launch. In the months prior, Cardman, Hague, Pesquet and Grebenkin skilled in Houston, Florida and California – from flying the Crew Dragon simulator in Hawthorne, CA to practising escape drills at Launch Complex 39A. The focused launch window has been set for no sooner than late July 2025, with liftoff from Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A to ship the Crew-11 Dragon spacecraft towards the ISS.

Mission Overview and Scientific Research

Crew-11 will help a routine six-month science expedition on the ISS. Under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon continues to supply dependable, cost-effective entry to the station, carrying 4 astronauts for long-duration missions and sustaining the ISS crew complement.
The mission’s analysis agenda is wide-ranging. Experiments embrace JAXA’s Plant Cell Division research of algae and tobacco cells in microgravity, investigations of bacteriophages as alternate options to antibiotics (Genes in Space), and biotech initiatives to develop stem cells (StemCellEx) and on-demand nutritional vitamins (BioNutrients) in orbit. These and different ISS research purpose to advance human well being and life help for future exploration.