Four astronauts aboard NASA’s Crew-12 mission departed the International Space Station on October 7, 2026, and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off California on October 8, 2026, successfully concluding a 237-day science expedition in low-Earth orbit.
Eastern Time on Wednesday, October 7, carrying a four-person international crew after nearly eight months in orbit. Commanded by NASA astronaut Jessica Meir alongside pilot Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, the quartet embarked on a 27-hour transit home. Preparations for the return journey involved weeks of packing personal items, hardware, and scientific samples inside the capsule, alongside a traditional fluid-loading protocol where the astronauts consumed pouches of water mixed with salt tablets before entering the atmosphere to help their bodies readjust to Earth’s gravity.
Spacecraft Plunges Into Pacific Ocean
The return voyage culminated in a fiery atmospheric reentry on Thursday, October 8, 2026, as the Crew Dragon spacecraft dropped out of orbit from a speed of approximately 17,500 mph.
The spacecraft’s forward Draco thrusters fired for nine minutes and 20 seconds, initiating a controlled descent that exposed the vehicle’s ablative heat shield to temperatures reaching up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit. As the capsule plunged deeper into the atmosphere, it slowed to a few hundred miles per hour before deploying its parachute system.
Four minutes before touchdown, at an altitude of approximately 18,000 feet while moving at roughly 350 mph, drogue parachutes deployed to stabilize the vehicle. Less than a minute later, at about 6,000 feet and a speed of roughly 120 mph, the main orange-and-white parachutes unfurled, braking the capsule to a gentle 16 mph. The spacecraft successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California at 11:34 a.m. Eastern Time, bringing the 237-day mission to a close. Recovery vessels immediately moved toward the capsule to retrieve the crew members, who planned to board helicopters for the journey to the mainland.
Astronauts Conduct Spacewalks and Research
Launched on February 13, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the Crew-12 team spent their time aboard the orbiting laboratory maintaining the station and executing dozens of scientific and technological investigations intended to prepare humanity for future exploration of the Moon and Mars.
The astronauts also undertook extensive exterior maintenance. Commander Jessica Meir completed four spacewalks during the mission, bringing her career total to seven. Mission specialist Sophie Adenot performed three spacewalks, including an August 18 excursion alongside NASA astronaut Anil Menon to disconnect a failed high-speed antenna, which made Adenot the first French woman to perform a spacewalk. On September 1, Adenot and Meir replaced a retroreflector on the forward port of the Harmony module to support navigation and docking for visiting spacecraft.
Crew Hands Over Station Duties
Prior to their departure, the Crew-12 astronauts participated in a planned handover with their replacements, the Crew-13 mission, who arrived at the orbital outpost on October 1. During a change-of-command ceremony, Meir officially transferred leadership of the station to veteran Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov. Reflecting on the transition, Meir described the mixed emotions of leaving orbit.
“We will be leaving our friends, but we know that we are going home to our friends, to our families, to all of our team members on the ground. So it’s a lot of mixed, swirling emotions for all of us when one leaves a home like this up on the space station.”
Jessica Meir, Commander, NASA
The combined station crews also gathered for a group embrace that Meir affectionately termed a “huggle” before the hatch closure. With the departure of Crew-12, the station population returned from 11 individuals back to a standard complement of seven, consisting of the four Crew-13 members—commander Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk, and Sergey Teteryatnikov—alongside three crew members who arrived via a Soyuz vehicle in July: Anil Menon, Pyotr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina ( Orlando Sentinel, NBC Los Angeles). Crew-13 is scheduled to maintain operations aboard the laboratory for a six-month tour of duty.