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An international team of five astronauts wrapped up nearly five months aboard the International Space Station and began their return journey on a SpaceX capsule on Friday. U.S. astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, are scheduled to spend over 17 hours inside the capsule before landing off the coast of California at 3:33 p.m. GMT on Saturday.
This marked the conclusion of the 10th crew rotation mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which was established to replace the Space Shuttle program by collaborating with private industry. The Dragon capsule, operated by billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX, undocked from the International Space Station at 9:15 p.m. GMT Friday. Its descent will be slowed during atmospheric re-entry, followed by parachutes that will cushion the landing.
Once in the water, a SpaceX support vessel will recover the capsule and bring it aboard, allowing the astronauts to finally breathe Earth’s air again after months in orbit. During their time on the station, Crew-10 participants conducted a range of scientific experiments, including studies on plant growth and cellular responses to gravity.
Their launch in March was closely watched because it allowed two U.S. astronauts, who had unexpectedly remained on the station for nine months, to finally return home. Originally, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were meant to spend just eight days testing Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, but propulsion issues prevented their return, leaving them stranded in space. NASA announced this week that Wilmore is planning to retire after a 25-year career.
Last week, U.S. astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, boarded the ISS for a six-month mission.
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