SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with Crew-7 quartet heads back to Earth

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft 'Endurance' with Crew-7 aboard undocked from the International Space Station at 11:20 a.m. EDT on Monday, March 11. Crew-7, including NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, launched on August 26, 2023, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The spacecraft will re-enter Earth's atmosphere for splashdown off the coast of Florida at approximately 5:50 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 12, completing a six-and-a-half-month space research mission.

The SpaceX Crew-7 mission is the seventh commercial crew rotation mission for NASA.

LIVE: @SpaceX's Dragon Endurance is undocking as #Crew7 wraps up their months-long science expedition aboard the @Space_Station. Tune in as we stream from space. https://t.co/p1DVpfBe2f

— NASA (@NASA) March 11, 2024

Update 1

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 splashed down safely in the Dragon spacecraft at 5:47 a.m. EDT off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.

"This international crew showed that space unites us all. It's clear that we can do more – we can learn more – when we work together. The science experiments conducted during their time in space will help prepare for NASA's bold missions at the Moon, Mars, and beyond, all while benefitting humanity here on Earth," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.