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Jason Davis • Apr 10, 2017

Expedition 50 had a fun and good ISS crew

The 50th International Space Station expedition came to an end this morning, as Shane Kimbrough, Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko landed in Kazakhstan at 7:20 a.m. EDT (11:20 UTC). They leave behind Peggy Whitson, who just received a three-month mission extension, along with Thomas Pesquet and Oleg Novitskiy. 

I believe Expedition 50 had a fun and good ISS crew. I base this declaration solely on the moments they shared on social media during the past six months. This logic is completely bulletproof and there's no point trying to prove otherwise.

Suppose you find yourself in low-Earth orbit with a team of fellow astronauts, zipping around the Earth at a clip of 7.7 kilometers per second, and you ask yourself: "Is this a fun and good ISS crew?" Here are some was to tell.

You have solid game faces.

Expedition 50 / 51 crewmembers
Expedition 50 / 51 crewmembers From left: Thomas Pesquet, ESA; Oleg Novitskiy, Roscosmos; Peggy Whitson, NASA.Image: NASA / Alexander Vysotsky

Because you know you're superheroes.

Expedition 50 crew portrait
Expedition 50 crew portrait Front row, from left: Andrey Borisenko, Roscosmos; Shane Kimbrough, NASA; Sergey Ryzhikov, Roscosmos. Back row, from left: Thomas Pesquet, ESA; Peggy Whitson, NASA, Oleg Novitskiy, Roscosmos.Image: NASA

You like spending the holidays with each other.

And when someone brings a snack, they share.

Expedition 50 crew enjoys a snack
Expedition 50 crew enjoys a snack Image: NASA

You're hip to the latest social media memes.

You're down for some hijinks. 

And you aren't bashful in front of your friends.

You'll miss each other.

But you have a nice planet to come home to.

With friends that will lift your spirits!

Astronaut Shane Kimbrough gets a lift
Astronaut Shane Kimbrough gets a lift NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough is carried to a medical tent shortly after landing on April 10, 2017.Image: NASA / Bill Ingalls

And if you're staying behind, it's nice to have some extra space.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson stretches out
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson stretches out Image: NASA

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