Four astronauts have returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, 8 October 2026. The crew had been on the orbiting lab for eight months, having hurried there to replace an ailing colleague and his crew.
SpaceX facilitated the return of the US, French, and Russian crew, who splashed down in the Pacific off the coast of Los Angeles. The astronauts, Nasa’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot, and Russia’s Andrey Fedyaev, departed the ISS on Wednesday.
Their mission began in February after one of the station's occupants, Nasa’s Mike Fincke, fell ill, leading to Nasa's first medical evacuation in 65 years of human spaceflight. Meir participated in four spacewalks during their time on the ISS, while Adenot ventured outside three times for maintenance and upgrades.
Seven astronauts from the US, Russia, and Canada remain aboard the space station. The outpost has hosted 298 visitors from 26 countries since 2000.