Historic Homecoming: Astronauts Return from 220 Days in Space

A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians, Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, and one American, Don Pettit, returned to Earth from the ISS after 220 days. The spacecraft safely landed on the Kazakh steppe. Pettit marked his 70th birthday on landing day.

A Soyuz capsule landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday, bringing two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut back from a seven-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS).

The capsule carried Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos, and Don Pettit from NASA, safely making its descent near Zhezkazgan at 6:20 a.m., according to Roscosmos reports.

After orbiting Earth 3,520 times over 220 days, the crew returned safely, coinciding with Pettit's 70th birthday. While NASA followed its post-landing medical procedures, the crew will soon depart for respective destinations in Kazakhstan and Houston for further debriefing and training.

(With inputs from agencies.)