Four astronauts return from the ISS to the US after eight months — France 24

Four astronauts from the United States, France and Russia returned to Earth in the United States after eight months aboard the International Space Station. A SpaceX capsule carrying NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrey Fedyaev splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles.

The crew left the ISS on Wednesday, and their return was delayed by three weeks due to repairs to the capsule in which their replacements arrived at the station. As France 24 reports, the astronauts went into orbit in February to replace four members of the previous crew, who were sent home early because one of them, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, fell ill.

Work in open space

During the mission, Jessica Meir conducted four spacewalks, while Sophie Adenot conducted three. They carried out maintenance and upgrades to the 28-year-old orbital station. According to NASA, the early return of the previous crew was the first medical evacuation in 65 years of US human spaceflight.

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Before returning, Meir said the crew had mixed emotions and would miss the “extraordinary views of our home planet.” After splashdown, she radioed that the astronauts were happy to be back on Earth after their ISS mission.

Who remains on the station

Seven astronauts representing the United States, Russia and Canada currently remain aboard the ISS. Since the station began operating in 2000, it has been visited by 298 people from 26 countries, NASA calculated.