Four astronauts returned to Earth early on Monday after spending six months at the International Space Station (ISS), marking the end of their rotation mission. The crew, consisting of Nasa astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Sultan al-Neyadi, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, splashed down off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule.
Residents of the northeast part of Florida were treated to the spectacle of the capsule parachuting down just after midnight. The astronauts expressed their longing for hot showers, steaming cups of coffee, and the ocean air before departing the space station on Sunday.
Of the crew, Al-Neyadi made history over the Labor Day weekend by completing the longest-ever Arab space mission. During their time at the ISS, Bowen conducted three spacewalks, with Hoburg joining for two and Al-Neyadi for one. They also installed two new roll-out solar arrays to increase power generation for the station.
Hurricane Idalia, which recently hit Florida’s Gulf coast, delayed the crew’s originally scheduled Saturday arrival. However, they were greeted by a roomful of happy people upon their return to Earth. The international crew spent a total of 186 days in orbit.
The Crew-6 mission will be followed by another crew switch later this month, as SpaceX successfully launched its Dragon spacecraft in late August with four crew members onboard. The new team, comprised of astronauts from Denmark, Japan, and Russia, was the first US launch in which every spacecraft seat was occupied by an astronaut from a different country.
Monday’s homecoming marked the fourth trip to space and back for the Dragon Endeavor, following previous missions Axiom-1, Crew-2, and Demo-2. In the coming month, another Nasa astronaut, alongside two Russians, will launch to the ISS from Kazakhstan.
Teams on the SpaceX recovery ship, including two fast boats, have been dispatched to secure the Crew Dragon capsule after landing. The ISS currently houses seven astronauts in between crew swaps.
The safe return of the astronauts concludes their successful mission, contributing to continued research and exploration in space.