A Soyuz spacecraft has brought a cosmonaut from Russia and two astronauts from the United States and Japan safely back to Earth after spending 165 days at the International Space Station.
Having completed its return journey from the ISS, the Soyuz lander successfully touched down on the Kazakhstan steppe and was promptly met by a rescue team. Russian cosmonaut Sergey Volkov, NASA astronaut Michel Fossum and Japan’s Satoshi Furukawa returned to Earth safe and sound. After their long stint working in orbit, the men will now need to adapt slowly to being back on terra firma. Tensions surrounded the expedition following an accident involving a Progress cargo ship in August. The craft, carrying supplies for the ISS, crashed in Russia’s Altai mountains and as a result all launches were suspended. The ISS crew had to resort to using their reserve food and water supplies and faced a delay in the arrival of a replacement crew. Now everything is back on track with the new team taking control of the ISS while the old one adjusts to life back on Earth.