NASA Astronauts Make Historic Return to Earth After Space Mission
Astronauts Safely Return from Space
Washington: On Saturday, four astronauts successfully returned to Earth after a five-month mission at the International Space Station, where they replaced the stranded test pilots of Boeing's Starliner.
Their SpaceX capsule made a parachute landing in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Southern California, a day after departing from the orbiting laboratory.
SpaceX Mission Control greeted them with a warm, "Welcome home."
The crew included NASA's Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan's Takuya Onishi, and Russia's Kirill Peskov. They launched in March to take over for two NASA astronauts who were stuck due to issues with the Starliner.
Malfunctions with the Starliner had kept Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams at the space station for over nine months, far longer than the intended week. Consequently, NASA instructed Boeing to send the crew capsule back empty and reassigned the astronauts to SpaceX.
After McClain and her team arrived, Wilmore, who has since retired from NASA, departed shortly after.
Before leaving the space station, McClain reflected on the "tumultuous times on Earth" and the struggles people face.
"We hope our mission serves as a reminder of what can be achieved when we collaborate and explore together," she stated.
Looking forward to her return to Houston, McClain expressed a desire to relax for a few days, while her crewmates were eager for hot showers and delicious burgers.
This marked SpaceX's third crewed splashdown in the Pacific, and notably, the first for a NASA crew in half a century.
Earlier this year, Elon Musk's company shifted capsule returns from Florida to California to minimize the risk of debris landing in populated areas. The recent missions were the first private crewed flights to experience a Pacific return.
The last time NASA astronauts splashed down in the Pacific was during the Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975, a historic meeting of American and Soviet astronauts in orbit.