Astronauts end six-month space stint with safe landing in Kazakhstan

Two Russians and an American astronaut have returned to Earth after a six-month stint in space. NASA said that after successfully undocking, the capsule enjoyed a few hours of free flight but the return was not completely lacking drama - communication links between the capsule and Earth were lost for a short time. The three astronauts included Yelena Serova - the first female Russian cosmonaut to have spent time on the ISS. She landed along with Alexander Samokutyaev and Barry Wilmore in Kazakhstan.

The Soyuz ‘eased’ - the reality is a rather bumpy return - its way to the ground under parachute, ahead of a landing southeast of Dzhezkazgan - with touchdown also taking a while to confirm, due to low clouds and heavy fog in the recovery area.

Statement on NASA website

The TMA-14M capsule landed upright and rescue crews spent half an hour retrieving the astronauts. All three were taken to chairs set up nearby to begin their readjustment to gravity and undergo medical tests. Another three astronauts remain on the Space Station and will be joined by more crew members on March 27. That mission is being touted as “hugely historic” as two of the astronauts will stay on board for a year so scientists can assess the impact of long-term missions on humans.

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