The third longest-serving team of astronauts on the International Space Station left the station early Thursday to begin the journey back to Earth, ending a six-month scientific mission, according to Archyde.com.
And SpaceX sent this team to the International Space Station for the benefit of the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, carrying three American astronauts working for NASA and a German astronaut from the European Space Agency, departed from the International Space Station at about 05:00 GMT to begin the journey back to Earth.
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1522054765538070528?s=20&t=_lbhadAeIFFINrOmmg4S5w
This trip is expected to last less than 24 hours.
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1522085328856784897?s=20&t=_lbhadAeIFFINrOmmg4S5w
“For me, the main thing now is to pack my belongings,” German astronaut Matthias Maurer, 52, said Monday from the International Space Station in a live broadcast with ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and others. Maurer returns to Earth after spending about six months in space.
He indicated that he was happy that all the experiments conducted by German and European scientists went well, adding: “I hope that we have achieved very new results.”
Aschbacher said the astronauts’ scientific work is “work that we really need here on Earth,” wishing Maurer a “safe trip to Earth.”
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1521958850185809921?s=20&t=_lbhadAeIFFINrOmmg4S5w