Astronauts at the International Space Station Return to Earth

A Russian cosmonaut returned to our planet with two American astronauts serving at the International Space Station. The three-person team landed safely in Kazakhstan.

One of the most important achievements and fundamental bases of humanity in space studies has been the International Space Station (ISS), built with the participation of various countries. The station is consistently equipped with crew from different countries.

Two astronauts Jessice Meir and Andrew Morgan, a cosmonaut on the 62nd reconnaissance mission, and Oleg Skripochka returned to Earth on April 17. The team landed safely in Kazakhstan.

Nine months in space
Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft headed to our planet after leaving ISS on Friday and made a safe landing with the help of parachutes. Jessica Meir and Oleg Skripochka, 205, and Andrew Morgan, who descended to the south of the city of Jezkazgan in Kazakhstan, were in space for 272 days.

Morgan, who started his mission on July 20 and was a part of the 60th, 61st and 62th missions, took 4,352 laps around our planet at the station during this time. Morgan’s journey also allowed us to gather information that would make it easier for us to understand how the human body reacts on long-term spaceflight.

Meir and Skripochka went to the station with Soyuz MS-15 again on September 25 and remained on duty for 205 days. Meir, who was also involved in the first space walk made by a team of completely women, and Skripochka, which reached 536 days in total in space, took 3,280 tours around our planet.

Astronauts will return to the US soon
After the health checks, astronauts will be taken to the city of Baykonur in Kazakhstan by Russian helicopters. Here, the team’s paths will be separated and the Roscosmos cosmonaut Skripochka will return to his home in Star City in Russia. Morgan and Meir will go to Houston on a NASA private plane.

The team has been involved in many different studies during his time in space. These include experiments that examine the formation of water drops, and experiments such as mini-electron microscopes and real-time investigation of particles.

With the return of the team, the 63th discovery task of the ISS has officially started. NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley who will participate in this mission will be the first astronauts to go to the ISS from the US territory since 2011. Chris Cassidy will be station commander on duty, Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner from Roscosmos will also serve as flight engineers.