WATCH Russian-US space crew return to Earth

A Russian-US space crew returned safely to Earth on Sunday after spending more than eight months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev and NASA astronaut Christopher Williams landed in Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, which touched down under parachutes southeast of the town of Zhezkazgan.

The crew undocked from the ISS earlier in the day after transferring to the Soyuz spacecraft for the return journey.

“This morning, the spacecraft undocked from the Rassvet module. Its deorbiting and descent to Earth proceeded normally!” Russia’s Rosatom State Corporation said in a statement.

Following routine post-landing medical checks, recovery teams will fly the crew by helicopter to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, NASA said.

Kud-Sverchkov, Mikaev, and Williams had been aboard the ISS since November. Their 241-day mission was the first spaceflight for Williams and Mikaev, and the second for Kud-Sverchkov.

After landing, the crew was greeted with traditional Russian nesting dolls bearing hand-painted likenesses of each astronaut and cosmonaut, a longstanding post-mission tradition.

Ahead of the crew’s departure, their ISS crewmate Jessica Meir shared farewell photos of the team on X, calling it “A bittersweet day on the Space Station.”

Seven crew members remain on the ISS. Sunday’s departure of the Soyuz MS-28 trio officially begins the station’s Expedition 75 mission.

The ISS is expected to remain in operation until the end of the decade after Roscosmos and NASA agreed to extend its service through 2030 and jointly wind down the program. The gradual decommissioning process is scheduled to begin in 2028, with the station set to be deorbited and deliberately sunk in the ocean by the end of 2030. Russia plans to replace the ISS with its own Russian Orbital Station (ROS).