According to NASA data, the SpaceX Crew-12 mission completed its flight and returned to Earth on Thursday, having spent nearly eight months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Four crew members safely landed in the Pacific Ocean.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft detached from the ISS on Wednesday at 8:05 AM Eastern Time (12:05 GMT) and completed a journey of over 27 hours, landing at 11:34 AM Eastern Time (15:34 GMT) off the coast of Los Angeles, California, marking the end of the mission.
The crew included NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, the mission commander, and Jack Hathi; European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adeno, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. They were brought out of the capsule one by one.
Jessica Meir expressed joy upon returning to Earth after an 'incredible mission on the International Space Station.'
The crew launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida on February 13 and spent 237 days on the ISS conducting scientific research and technology demonstrations.
During the mission, Sophie Adeno became the first French female astronaut to perform an extravehicular activity outside the station. She performed three such spacewalks on August 18, August 25, and September 1.
Last week, four more new crew members arrived at the ISS, who are expected to remain on the orbital laboratory for approximately six months.
The ISS, which has been continuously inhabited for the last quarter of a century, is scheduled to be deorbited and plunged into one of Earth's oceans around 2030.