A US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts have safely returned to Earth after an eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station.
NASA’s Chris Williams, alongside Russian crewmates Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, touched down in their Soyuz MS-28 capsule on Sunday.
The smooth landing by parachute occurred in the steppes of Kazakhstan, southeast of Dzhezkazgan. Russia's Roscosmos space agency confirmed the spacecraft landed at 1.27pm Moscow time (10.27 GMT).
Their 241-day stint on the orbiting outpost marked a significant milestone, being the first space mission for Williams and Mikaev, and the second for Kud-Sverchkov.
The crew will be flown by helicopter to Karaganda. Williams will then board a plane for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, while Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev head to their training base in Star City, near Moscow.
Nasa previously said this was the first spaceflight for Williams, a phycisist, and Mikaev, a military pilot while Kud-Sverchkov was on his second flight.
During their stint on the International Space Station, the trio joined Nasa astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman and Jonny Kim, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov, Alexei Zubritsky and Oleg Platonov.
Williams conducted scientific research and technology demonstrations at the orbiting outpost aimed at advancing human space exploration and benefiting life on Earth.
The successful return highlights the enduring cooperation between Russia and the United States in space exploration.
Once bitter rivals during the Cold War space race, both nations now collaborate on the International Space Station and other projects.
This relationship has faced strains following Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, yet Washington and Moscow have continued to work together, with US and Russian crews regularly flying to the orbiting outpost on each country's spacecraft.
On 14 July, the crew of Nasa astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina arrived at the International Space Station for an eight-month mission after launching from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 14 July.
Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman attended the launch, the first visit to Baikonur by a Nasa chief in eight years.
The newly arrived trio have joined Nasa astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev as part of Expedition 75.
