Four astronauts have come home after a six-month mission on the International Space Station, splashing down off the coast of Florida on Monday aboard their SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship.
The astronauts, who are part of NASA and SpaceX Crew-6 mission, left the space station around 7:05 a.m. ET on Sunday.
The team spent the day aboard the team Dragon vehicle, which traveled through Earth’s orbit and toward its planned landing spot off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, where they landed shortly after midnight ET.
SpaceX Capsule Deployed Parachutes, Reducing its Decent
The Crew Dragon capsule reentered Earth’s atmosphere at 17,000 mph, heating the spacecraft’s exterior up to 3,500°F outside. The occupants were covered by a heat shield that kept the temperature under 37.8 Degrees Celsius.
The capsule subsequently deployed parachutes to reduce its descent even further. Rescue personnel are preparing to lift the spaceship out of the ocean as well as onto a special boat called the “Dragon’s nest,” where final safety checks will be performed before the crew can exit.
NASA stated before the astronauts departed the space station that it had been watching the consequences of Hurricane Idalia, that made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday morning. The storm plowed over northern Florida before moving into southern Georgia and the Carolinas.
Read More: Luna-25: 33-Foot-Wide Crater Revealed On Moon’s Surface After Russian Probe Impact, NASA Confirms
Astronauts Spent Six Months on Orbiting Laboratory
After ascending to the station in March, the team spent six months on board the space laboratory in orbit. Crew-6 astronauts spent the last week preparing to welcome and pass over operations to Crew-7 team members, who landed at the space station on August 27.
The Crew-6 astronauts were supposed to oversee more than 200 research and technology projects during their time in space.
Read More: NASA’s Secret Strategy Sessions: James Webb Telescope And The Search For Extraterrestrial Life