NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev safely returned to Earth on Sunday, July 26, concluding a 241-day scientific mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The three crew members traveled home aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, which undocked from the ISS before making a parachute-assisted landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan, southeast of Dzhezkazgan. Recovery teams were on site to assist the astronauts and transport them for routine post-landing medical evaluations.
During their eight-month mission, the international crew completed 3,856 orbits of Earth, traveled more than 102 million miles (164 million kilometers), and carried out a broad range of scientific investigations. Their research included studies on human health in microgravity, space biology, physical sciences, and technologies designed to support future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.
Before departing the space station, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov officially handed over command of the ISS, marking the transition from Expedition 74 to Expedition 75.
Following their return, Williams will travel to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, while Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev will head to a training facility in Russia for rehabilitation and post-flight debriefings.
The successful completion of the Soyuz MS-28 mission highlights the continued cooperation between NASA and Roscosmos in maintaining a continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station and advancing scientific research that benefits future space exploration.
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