Four astronauts safely returned to Earth on Saturday, wrapping up a five-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS) where they stepped in for two NASA astronauts who were delayed due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
Their return was marked by a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near Southern California, just one day after undocking from the ISS. SpaceX’s mission control greeted them with a warm “Welcome home” as their capsule landed gently under parachutes.
The returning crew included NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, and Russia’s Kirill Peskov. They launched in March to replace Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were originally scheduled to stay aboard the ISS for a short Starliner test mission. However, due to persistent problems with Boeing’s capsule, their stay extended to over nine months.
With Starliner deemed unfit for their return, NASA directed the spacecraft to come back empty and reassigned Wilmore and Williams to a SpaceX flight. They departed soon after the new team arrived. Wilmore has since retired from the space agency.
Before departing the ISS on Friday, McClain acknowledged the challenges facing people on Earth, saying, “We want this mission, our mission, to be a reminder of what people can do when we work together, when we explore together.”
Looking ahead to her return home in Houston, McClain said she was most looking forward to “doing nothing for a couple of days.” Her fellow crew members were eager for simple pleasures like hot showers and fresh burgers.
This mission marked SpaceX’s third crewed splashdown in the Pacific, but notably, it was NASA’s first such return in the Pacific Ocean in 50 years. The switch from Florida to California waters was made earlier this year to minimize risks from falling debris over populated areas. Prior to this, two private missions had already landed in the Pacific.
NASA astronauts hadn’t landed in the Pacific since the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission, which was a historic joint operation between American and Soviet space programs.
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