Crew-12 Astronauts Splash Down After Eight Months on the Space Station

Four crew members of NASA's Crew-12 mission are back on Earth after almost eight months on the International Space Station. According to NPR, their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles on Thursday.

The crew was commanded by NASA's Jessica Meir and included pilot Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency and Andrey Fedyaev of Russia's Roscosmos. The Guardian reported that they had flown up to replace a crew sent home early after one of its members fell ill.

Why it matters: a mission that began with a medical return

The Guardian reported that Meir and her crew launched in February to relieve four station occupants who came home early after NASA's Mike Fincke, now retired, became ill. The outlet described it as NASA's first medical evacuation in 65 years of human spaceflight. The Crew-12 members therefore kept the station staffed and its work going after that unplanned return.

The Guardian also reported that the crew's own trip home was delayed. Their replacements arrived three weeks late because of capsule repairs, which stalled the homecoming. NPR said the Crew-13 members, three astronauts and a cosmonaut, arrived last week to begin a six-month rotation.

How the return unfolded

NPR reported that the descent began about 45 minutes before splashdown, at an orbital speed of 17,500 mph. The spacecraft fired its thrusters to leave orbit and plunged into the atmosphere, where its heat shield faced temperatures of up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Over about half an hour, the capsule slowed to a few hundred miles per hour. Four parachutes then lowered it to about 16 mph at the moment it touched the water.

The Guardian said the crew left the station on Wednesday. Meir radioed after splashdown that the crew was thrilled to be back on Earth.

What the crew did in orbit

Crew-12 was the 20th time SpaceX had sent humans into orbit, according to NPR. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in February, and the capsule docked with the station the next day. NASA said the crew completed dozens of science experiments, including studies of stem cells, crystal growth in space and bone loss in microgravity.

Some of the work took place outside. Meir carried out four spacewalks totaling just over 27 hours, and Adenot did three, for maintenance and upgrades to the station, which the Guardian described as a 28-year-old outpost.

Back to ordinary things

Before leaving, Meir said at a news conference on the station that she was eager to see her 3 1/2-year-old daughter. She also looked forward to feeling a breeze and hearing wind in the leaves. She said she would miss weightlessness and the views of Earth. The Guardian reported that Adenot was keen to return to water sports.

The Guardian said seven astronauts remain aboard the station, representing the U.S., Russia and Canada. By NASA's count, the outpost has welcomed 298 visitors from 26 countries since 2000.

Sources: NPR, The Guardian