NASA's Crew-12 splashes down off California after nearly eight months in orbit

Three astronauts and a cosmonaut from NASA’s Crew-12 mission have returned safely to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles, California, on Thursday 8 October aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

NASA had targeted splashdown at approximately 11:34 a.m. EDT, or 8:34 a.m. PDT, for the four-person crew. After a fiery re-entry, four orange-and-white parachutes eased the capsule to about 16 mph above the ocean before a gentle landing.

The crew — commander Jessica Meir, a two-time space veteran, pilot Jack Hathaway, and mission specialists Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency and Andrey Fedyaev of Russia’s Roscosmos — spent almost eight months on the International Space Station. The mission lifted off in February on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and docked with the station the next day.

During their stay, the crew completed dozens of science experiments and research, including studies of stem cells, how crystals grow in space and bone loss in microgravity. Meir conducted four spacewalks totalling just over 27 hours; Adenot performed three.

Crew-12 was relieved by Crew-13, whose three astronauts and cosmonaut arrived at the station last week to begin a six-month rotation. Before departure, Meir said she was “looking forward to seeing nature again, feeling the breeze on my face”. NASA scheduled a post-splashdown briefing for the Crew-12 return at 1:15 p.m. EDT on Thursday.