An international team of five astronauts began their journey back to Earth on Friday aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, concluding nearly five months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The returning crew — US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov — are expected to spend more than 17 hours inside the capsule before splashing down off the coast of California at 15:33 GMT on Saturday.
Their return marks the completion of NASA’s 10th crew rotation mission under the Commercial Crew Program, an initiative launched to succeed the Space Shuttle era through partnerships with private companies. The Dragon capsule, operated by billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX, detached from the ISS at 22:15 GMT on Friday.
The spacecraft’s high-speed re-entry will be slowed first by atmospheric drag, and later by large parachutes, ensuring a controlled ocean landing. Following splashdown, a SpaceX recovery vessel will retrieve the capsule and hoist it aboard, allowing the astronauts to breathe fresh Earth air for the first time in months.
During their mission, Crew-10 conducted a series of scientific investigations, including studies on plant growth and cellular responses to gravity.
The mission’s launch in March drew significant attention, as it facilitated the long-delayed return of US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. The pair had been stranded aboard the ISS for nine months due to propulsion issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, originally intended for an eight-day test flight in June 2024. NASA confirmed this week that Wilmore will retire after 25 years of service.
Meanwhile, the ISS welcomed a fresh crew last week: US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, who will embark on a six-month mission.
