MOSCOW — A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russian cosmonauts and one American astronaut successfully returned to Earth on Sunday, touching down in Kazakhstan after completing a seven-month research mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Russian space agency Roscosmos reported that the capsule, with crew members Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos and Don Pettit of NASA inside, landed without issue. The descent onto the vast Kazakh steppe, near the city of Zhezkazgan, occurred at 6:20 a.m. local time (0120 GMT). The landing procedure employed the assistance of parachutes to ensure a smooth arrival back on solid ground.
Their journey home marked the conclusion of an extensive research mission during which the crew spent 220 days in space. Throughout their mission, the crew members orbited the Earth a total of 3,520 times, according to a statement released by NASA. In a remarkable coincidence, Don Pettit celebrated his 70th birthday on the day of their return to Earth.
Following their safe landing, NASA indicated that the routine post-landing medical evaluations were underway for the crew. They are expected to be transported to the recovery staging area in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. From there, Don Pettit will proceed to board a NASA flight back to the Johnson Space Center located in Houston. Meanwhile, Roscosmos stated that Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner will make their way back to Star City, Russia, for further training.
Two days prior to their departure from the ISS, Alexey Ovchinin formally transferred command of the space station to Takuya Onishi, a Japanese astronaut, in a ceremonial change of command. This handover highlights the international cooperation and collaboration that continue to be a hallmark of the ISS program.