Expedition 57

Expedition 57 was a 2018 International Space Station increment commanded by ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst. It began on October 4, 2018, when Soyuz MS-08 undocked at the end of Expedition 56, leaving Gerst, Serena Aunon-Chancellor, and Sergei Prokopyev aboard the station. The planned Soyuz MS-10 launch later aborted safely, so the station remained at three crew members until Soyuz MS-11 arrived on December 3 with Oleg Kononenko, Anne McClain, and David Saint-Jacques. NASA's expedition page highlights research in Earth biodiversity, artificial intelligence support for crews, cancer-treatment investigations, life science, station operations, and cargo traffic. The increment also included a Russian segment spacewalk on December 11, 2018, when Kononenko and Prokopyev inspected the Soyuz MS-09 orbital module and completed external station tasks. Expedition 57 ended on December 20, 2018, when Gerst, Aunon-Chancellor, and Prokopyev departed on Soyuz MS-09, handing command and the station increment to Expedition 58.