Watch as SpaceX brings four astronauts back to Earth

SpaceX returned four astronauts to earth this morning, Friday, May 6, when their pod splashed down off the coast of Tampa in the early hours of the morning. The return of the crew ends their 177-day mission at the MIR Space Station, currently orbiting earth.

The SpaceX #Crew3 mission with four @Commercial_Crew astronauts splashed down off the coast of Tampa, Florida, at 12:43am ET today ending its mission after 177 days in space. More… https://t.co/Keoxp3q0K7 pic.twitter.com/BY2FuRvyBP

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) May 6, 2022

The astronauts who handed command of the MIR space station over Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, spent the last six months on a scientific expedition.

Amongst the studies undertaken was the growing of crops such as chillies and cotton, whilst an archaeological expedition, the first of its kind, was also undertaken in an effort to try and get a better understanding of our world and where we came from.

After more than 6-months of growing chiles, studying cotton, and performing the first archaeological study aboard the @Space_Station, it’s time for Crew-3 to come home. https://t.co/7TMqfQRJqV pic.twitter.com/ElClrjPXCP

— ISS Research (@ISS_Research) May 4, 2022

The MIR space station has been in the news in recent weeks, with the Russians threatening to stop maintenance and or to let it crash back down to earth. The threats follow the breakdown in relations at a political level following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

NASA and SpaceX who is ferrying the astronauts back and forth from Earth have both confirmed that they intend to continue working with their colleagues in Russia, and to keep the space station in working order.

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