Astronauts return to Earth after 115-days on International Space Station

Three astronauts from the U.S., Japan and Russia have returned to Earth after a 115-day mission on board the International Space Station. A Russian Soyuz space capsule carrying NASA’s Kate Rubins, Japan’s Takuya Onisihi and Russian Anatoly Ivanishin landed in a remote region near Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan on Sunday morning. Their journey home from space took around three-and-a-half hours from undocking until landing. The craft landed upright allowing the astronauts to be removed from the capsule fairly swiftly.

Everybody is feeling wonderful.

Anatoly Ivanishin

They sat on the treeless Central Asian steppes as they readjusted to the forces of gravity after nearly four months in weightless conditions. They were then taken to a nearby medical tent for initial examination. Molecular biologist Rubins and Onishi were both returning from their first missions in space, while flight commander Ivanishin undertook a five-month mission at the ISS five years ago. Their journey back to Earth marks the first complete mission to and from the orbital lab for a new generation of Soyuz spacecraft with upgraded features.

Science