NASA's Expedition 72 crew, composed of Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineers Don Pettit, Nick Hague, and Butch Wilmore, spent Wednesday transferring crucial research equipment and temperature-sensitive specimens from Dragon to the station. The items were promptly placed into dedicated research racks and cold storage for future study.

Pettit focused on space biology, transferring and installing hardware designed to study space-related inflammation changes in the Kibo lab module. Hague and Wilmore collaborated to disconnect and install portable science freezers carrying essential scientific samples in the station's EXPRESS racks, ensuring their readiness for processing. Williams assisted with the transfers and later worked with Wilmore to organize frozen research sample bags in various science freezers aboard the station.

Meanwhile, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Aleksandr Gorbunov worked on their own set of experiments and station maintenance. Ovchinin and Vagner were tasked with setting up an X-ray spectrometer in the Zvezda service module, brought by the Progress 89 resupply ship in August.

They connected cables and electronic components in preparation for future astrophysical observations. Gorbunov completed an observation session focused on Earth's nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet light and then proceeded with electronics and life support system maintenance.

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