Sonali Tiwary
NASA SpaceX Crew-12 astronauts are back on Earth. They splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off California after 237 days on the International Space Station (ISS). If you are asking whether the crew is fine and what they brought home, the short answer is yes, and a lot of science came with them.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles at 8:34 a.m. PDT (11:34 a.m. EDT) on October 8. The four-member international crew was NASA's Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, the European Space Agency's Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. They spent 237 days in orbit after launching on February 13. The capsule landed under parachutes. During the stay, the crew supported hundreds of hours of research, including work on stem-cell production, on-demand IV fluid generation, pneumonia-related heart damage, nutrition and blood flow. The safe return clears the way for Crew-13 and continued crew rotations under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
The splashdown keeps crew rotation on schedule, with Crew-13 taking over station duties. Samples from orbit are now headed to labs on Earth. As is standard, the crew will go through post-flight medical checks.
The mission began in a rush. Reports say the crew hurried to the station about eight months ago to replace an ailing colleague and his crew. long-duration spaceflight coverage
How long did the NASA SpaceX Crew-12 mission spend in orbit? The mission spent 237 days aboard the ISS. The four crew members supported research in microgravity before returning safely in the Pacific off California.
Crew-12 returned safely after 237 days on the ISS. NASA has set a briefing to discuss the mission. Check back for updates.
