Five astronauts depart space station for return to Earth

After nearly five months aboard the International Space Station, five astronauts began their journey back to Earth on Friday aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov are expected to spend more than 17 hours in the capsule before splashing down off California’s coast at 3:33 p.m. GMT on Saturday.

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The return marks the end of the 10th crew rotation mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The Dragon capsule undocked from the ISS at 10:15 p.m. GMT Friday, with its reentry and parachute-assisted landing set to be followed by recovery at sea.

During their mission, Crew-10 conducted experiments on plant growth and cellular responses to gravity. Their March launch also allowed two US astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who had been stranded on the ISS for nine months due to Boeing Starliner propulsion problems, to finally return home.

NASA said this week that Wilmore will retire after 25 years of service. Last week, four new crew members arrived at the ISS for a six-month mission.

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