Space station crew starts voyage back to our planet

USA-(Special Correspondent/Web desk)-Following almost five months in orbit, the Crew-10 astronauts have started their return from the International Space Station. They’re traveling in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, which undocked from the station on Friday.

International Crew Set for California Splashdown
On board are US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. They are expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean near California on Saturday at 15:33 GMT, after a 17-hour flight.
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This marks the conclusion of NASA’s 10th crew rotation mission to the space station under the Commercial Crew Program, which partners with private companies to carry astronauts to space. The SpaceX Dragon capsule, owned by Elon Musk’s company, separated from the ISS at 22:15 GMT on Friday.

The capsule’s high-speed re-entry will be slowed first by the atmosphere, then by large parachutes for a softer landing. After splashdown, a SpaceX recovery ship will lift the capsule aboard. Only then will the astronauts breathe fresh Earth air for the first time in months.

During their mission, the Crew-10 astronauts conducted many experiments, including studying plant growth and how cells respond to gravity. Their work will help scientists prepare for longer space missions in the future.

When Crew-10 launched in March, it also made history — it allowed two US astronauts, who had been stranded on the space station for nine months, to finally return home. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally meant to stay just eight days on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June 2024, but a propulsion failure left the ship unable to bring them back.

NASA announced this week that Wilmore is retiring after 25 years of service. His unplanned extended stay in space became one of the most talked-about events in recent NASA history.