WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After two weeks of wait due to unfavorable weather conditions, SpaceX's Crew-8 mission astronauts have returned to earth.
NASA said that American astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin successfully splashed down at 3:29 a.m. ET Friday, off Pensacola, Florida, concluding a nearly eight-month science mission and the agency's eighth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station.
Recovery teams from NASA and SpaceX quickly secured the spacecraft and assisted the astronauts for exit. The crew is heading to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, while the Dragon spacecraft will return to SpaceX facilities at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for inspection and refurbishment for future missions.
After launching March 3 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the quartet spent 232 days aboard the space station.
During their mission, crew members traveled nearly 100 million miles and completed 3,760 orbits around Earth. They conducted new scientific research to advance human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit human life on Earth. Research and technology demonstrations included conducting stem cell research to develop organoid models for studying degenerative diseases, exploring how fuel temperature affects material flammability, and studying how spaceflight affects immune function in astronauts. Their work aims to improve astronaut health during long-duration spaceflights, contributing to critical advancements in space medicine and benefitting humanity.
Crew-8 members returned to earth after NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 entered the orbiting laboratory on September 29 to replace them as part of rotating missions.
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