Four astronauts returned to Earth on Thursday from the International Space Station, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles aboard a SpaceX capsule after an eight-month mission that began with an urgent crew replacement.
NASA's Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France's Sophie Adenot and Russia's Andrey Fedyaev departed the orbiting laboratory on Wednesday, eager to reunite with their families after a lengthy separation. Their replacements arrived three weeks late because of capsule repairs, delaying the crew's homecoming.
«We are so excited to be back on Planet Earth after an incredible mission on the International Space Station,» Meir radioed moments after splashdown. While still in orbit, she described the crew as having «a lot of mixed, swirling emotions» and said they would miss the «extraordinary views of our home planet.»
The four launched in February to replace four station occupants who were sent home early after one of them, NASA's Mike Fincke, now retired, fell ill. It was NASA's first medical evacuation in 65 years of human spaceflight, underscoring the risks that remain even for routine rotations aboard the 28-year-old outpost.
During their stay, the crew watched with pride as the Artemis II astronauts flew around the moon two months into their mission. They also marked the United States' 250th birthday in orbit, with Meir joining the Boston Pops with her piccolo for a Fourth of July concert.
Meir conducted four spacewalks, while Adenot ventured outside three times for maintenance and upgrades to the station. Between the work, the astronauts found time for lighter moments, throwing a dance party last month and holding regular cooking demonstrations complete with aprons and a chef's toque.
Meir also presented a how-to video for curly-haired spacewomen, while Hathaway maintained a bushy mustache — a rarity in space — that he grew before launching to honor his Navy ties. He said it was no harder to keep groomed in weightlessness than on Earth, and some ground controllers grew mustaches in solidarity.
Asked in August whether the mustache would survive the mission, Hathaway was noncommittal. «It's kind of become a little bit of my brand up here,» he said, «so I don't know if it'll go away right away or I'll end up keeping it for a while.»
Seven astronauts remain aboard the space station, representing the United States, Russia and Canada. By NASA's count, the outpost has welcomed 298 visitors from 26 countries since it opened in 2000.
The returning crew members said they looked forward to simple pleasures: feeling the breeze on their faces, taking a shower and, for Adenot at least, getting back to water sports. Their splashdown closes a rotation that was set in motion by a medical emergency and extended by technical delays, a reminder that human spaceflight remains a balance of risk, repair and endurance.
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