Four astronauts from NASA’s Crew-10 mission, consisting of Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers from the United States, Takuya Onishi from Japan, and Kirill Peskov from Russia, left the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday and are making an almost 18-hour journey back to Earth in a SpaceX Dragon capsule. They are expected to splash down off California’s coast in the Pacific Ocean at 3.33 p.m. UTC/GMT on Saturday, marking the completion of NASA’s 10th commercial crew rotation.
Over the course of 146 days on the ISS, the crew conducted over 200 experiments in important and time-sensitive research, including studies on plant growth and cell behavior in microgravity. These findings will contribute significantly to scientific knowledge and understanding.
The Crew-10 mission was launched on March 14, replacing Crew-9 – which consisted of Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams – after they were stranded on the ISS for nine months due to propulsion issues with their Boeing Starliner capsule. A SpaceX capsule eventually brought the two astronauts home. Wilmore recently retired from NASA after 25 years of service.
Last week, new astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke from the United States, Kimiya Yui from Japan, and Oleg Platonov from Russia boarded the ISS for a six-month mission, ensuring the continual presence of a diverse and dedicated crew on the international space station.
Edited by Sean Sinico
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/nasa-astronauts-return-to-earth-from-iss-after-five-months/a-73578466?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
