Who Is on the ISS Right Now?
People have lived continuously aboard the International Space Station since November 2000, and China’s Tiangong station now has its own permanent crew. This page reads the current crew manifest and shows who is in orbit right now, which spacecraft they flew up on, which Expedition is running, and how long each person has been away from Earth. To see where the station itself is at this moment, open the live ISS position page.
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How to read this page
The crew is grouped first by station and then by the vehicle each person launched on. Crew members who share a vehicle normally arrived together and will leave together, so the group that has been in orbit longest is the one closest to going home. The “on this mission” counter is calculated from each person’s launch date rather than copied from a feed, which keeps it accurate to the day.
What is an ISS Expedition?
Station operations are divided into numbered Expeditions. A new Expedition begins when the previous crew’s departing spacecraft undocks, so the number rises by one every few months. Because crews overlap, the people aboard at any moment are often a mix of two different arrivals, which is why the list above can contain more than one vehicle group. The first Expedition began in 2000 with a crew of three; today’s station normally supports about seven.
How crews get to the station and home again
Long-duration crews launch on a Russian Soyuz capsule or a US commercial crew vehicle such as SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, and the same vehicle stays docked as their lifeboat until it brings them home. Typical stays are about six months, although individual missions vary. Tiangong crews fly on China’s Shenzhou spacecraft, also for roughly six months, with a short overlap when the incoming and outgoing crews are aboard together.
Seeing the station from the ground
Knowing who is on board makes a pass overhead more fun: when the station crosses your sky, everyone on this list is up there. Use the visible-tonight finder to get the exact time for your location, and the first-timer’s guide for what to look for.
Frequently asked questions
How many people are on the ISS right now?
The station normally has a crew of about seven, rising briefly during crew handovers. The live count and every name are shown at the top of this page.
What is an ISS Expedition?
It is the numbered period of a long-duration crew’s stay. A new Expedition begins when the previous crew’s departing spacecraft undocks.
How long do astronauts stay on the ISS?
Most stay about six months, though individual missions can be shorter or longer.
Who else is in space besides the ISS crew?
China’s Tiangong station is also permanently crewed, normally by three taikonauts, with six during crew handovers. Both stations are listed above.
Want to see the station itself? Open the live tracker for its position, the next pass over your location and an AR sky finder.
Open the live tracker Is the ISS visible tonight?