An international crew of astronauts has made a safe return to Earth after spending nearly five months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). NASA’s Crew-10 mission wrapped up on Saturday morning when SpaceX’s Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near California.
The crew included US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. They landed at 8:44am local time (8:34pm PKT), completing the 10th crew rotation mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program — a partnership with private space companies to replace the Space Shuttle era.
Their journey home began Friday night when the capsule undocked from the ISS. Over 17 hours, it descended through Earth’s atmosphere, slowed by a series of massive parachutes before recovery by a SpaceX vessel.
During their mission, Crew-10 performed dozens of scientific experiments, from space agriculture research to studying how cells adapt to microgravity. Their arrival in March also freed up seats for stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who had been stuck on the ISS for nine months after Boeing’s Starliner developed propulsion issues.
NASA announced this week that Wilmore will retire after more than two decades of service. Meanwhile, a fresh crew — including US, Japanese, and Russian astronauts — is now on board the ISS for the next six-month stint.