Four space station crew members safely returned to Earth on Thursday after completing an eight-month mission, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean aboard a SpaceX capsule following a weather-delayed departure from orbit.
Three astronauts and a cosmonaut wrapped up an extended stay aboard the International Space Station, touching down off the coast of Los Angeles, California, inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. The returning travelers included NASA commander Jessica Meir, pilot Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency mission specialist Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos mission specialist Andrey Fedyaev.
Their journey home began roughly 45 minutes before splashdown while traveling at an orbital speed of 17,500 mph. The spacecraft ignited its thrusters to break out of orbit, sending the capsule plunging into the atmosphere where its ablative heat shield withstood extreme temperatures reaching up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit. After slowing down to a few hundred miles per hour during a half-hour descent, four orange-and-white parachutes deployed to ease the spacecraft to a gentle 16 mph before its arrival in the ocean.
Weather Delays Crew Departure from Orbital Complex
The return trip faced a brief delay before the crew could leave the orbital complex. NASA and SpaceX initially eyed an earlier undocking before reviewing conditions off the California coast, ultimately pushing the departure to Wednesday, Oct. 7, according to a Commercial Crew update.
Recovery teams require calm winds, safe wave heights, and clear visibility to safely retrieve the capsule and crew from the water.
Before closing the hatch at 6:05 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, the crew spent weeks packing the capsule with personal cargo and scientific samples. They also completed fluid loading, a standard pre-landing practice where astronauts consume drink bags mixed with salt tablets to help the human body readjust to gravity after months in microgravity.
Science Experiments and Spacewalks During Eight Months in Orbit
The Crew-12 mission marked the 20th time SpaceX carried humans into orbit, launching from Cape Canaveral in Florida in Feb. By the time they undocked, the crew had spent 237 days in space.
During their nearly eight months in space, the crew executed dozens of scientific studies and technology demonstrations. Their research portfolio included investigating stem cell growth, crystal formation in microgravity, and bone loss in microgravity.
Maintenance and station upgrades took place outside the pressurized modules as well. Meir completed four spacewalks totaling just over 27 hours, while Adenot carried out three spacewalks. Notably, Adenot’s work made history by establishing her as the first French woman to walk in space, reported Inbox.
Emotional Farewells and the Transition to Crew-13
Prior to their departure, the returning astronauts handed over station operations and bid farewell to their temporary home.
“But we know that we are going home to our friends, to our families, to all of our team members on the ground, so it’s a lot of mixed, swirling emotions for all of us when one leaves a home like this up on the space station.”
Jessica Meir, NASA astronaut and Crew-12 commander
Reflecting on what she missed most during her time away, Meir mentioned her 3 1/2-year-old daughter and simple terrestrial pleasures. So looking forward to seeing nature again, feeling the breeze on my face, the wind rustling through the leaves. Experiencing all those things that we don’t have up here,
she said during a pre-departure news conference, adding that she would ultimately miss weightlessness and the stunning views of Earth.
The departing team was relieved by the arrival of Crew-13, who traveled to the station earlier in the month. Crew-13 features NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, who will maintain a six-month rotation aboard the orbital complex alongside station commander Pyotr Dubrov, Anil Menon, and Anna Kikina.
