NASA astronaut returns to Earth with 2 cosmonauts after 8-month stay on ISS

NASA astronaut Chris Williams and two Russian cosmonauts have returned to Earth after an eight-month ISS mission, landing safely in Kazakhstan. The crew touched down on Sunday aboard their Soyuz MS-28 capsule, which deployed parachutes over a designated recovery zone southeast of Dzhezkazgan in the steppes. Williams and Sergei Mikaev were making their first spaceflights, while Sergei Kud-Sverchkov flew for a second time. Their 241 days aboard the International Space Station mark the conclusion of Expedition 75’s crew rotation. After landing, the trio will travel by helicopter to Karaganda, where Williams will fly back to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, and Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev will head to Star City near Moscow. The mission underscores ongoing US-Russia cooperation on ISS despite tensions tied to the 2022 Ukraine invasion. In related news, Expedition 75 began with the arrival on July 14 of Anil Menon, Pyotr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina.