Four Astronauts Return to Earth from Six-Month Orbit, Representing Four Different Countries.
Four astronauts, representing four different countries, returned to Earth on Tuesday with SpaceX after a six-month mission at the International Space Station.
The capsule rapidly traveled through the United States during the early hours before landing in the Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Panhandle.
The crew returning from NASA consists of Jasmin Moghbeli, a Marine helicopter pilot, along with Andreas Mogensen from Denmark, Satoshi Furukawa from Japan, and Konstantin Borisov from Russia.
They moved into the space station last August. Their replacements arrived last week in their own SpaceX capsule.
On March 12, 2024, four individuals – Konstantin Borisov from Russia, Andreas Mogensen from the European Space Agency, Jasmin Moghbeli from NASA, and Satoshi Furukawa from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency – were photographed on the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN. (Photo credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)
Moghbeli communicated, upon leaving the orbiting complex on Monday, that they had left peanut butter and tortillas for the recipient. Responded NASA’s Loral O’Hara: “I already miss you all and thank you for the generous gift.”
O’Hara will spend a few more weeks at the space station before departing on a Russian Soyuz capsule.
Prior to departing the space station, Mogensen expressed through the social media platform X (previously known as Twitter) his excitement for hearing the soothing sounds of birds chirping in the trees and his desire for crispy food.
NASA has a preference for having various travel alternatives in the event of rocket difficulties. Beginning in early May, Boeing is expected to begin offering a two-pilot test flight for astronaut transportation services.
Source: voanews.com
