NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 returns to Earth after 6-month orbit
- A four-person international crew took off in March and returned Monday
- They traveled more than 79 million miles during their mission
- The trip will help NASA prepare for its return to the moon under Artemis
From left, Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Warren Hoburg, Stephen Bowen, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi pose for a photo after leaving the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The astronauts are scheduled to liftoff early Thursday morning on a trip to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
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(NewsNation) — NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 landed safely Monday off the coast of Florida, marking the completion of its sixth commercial crew rotation mission in the to the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg as well as United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev splashed back down to Earth at 12:17 a.m. EDT. After returning to shore, the crew will fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The international crew of four spent 186 days — about six months — in orbit, logged about 79 million miles and completed hundreds of experiments during the mission, according to NASA.
The trip was the fourth flight of the Dragon spacecraft, which was named Endeavour by retired NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on its first voyage for the agency’s SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2, according to the agency.
The crew’s contributions will help prepare NASA to return to the Moon under Artemis, according to a news release.
