The astronauts landed back on our planet after spending over 5 months aboard the ISS

Sep 11, 2014 12:53 GMT  ·  By
Astronauts returns to Earth after spending 5 and a half months aboard the ISS
   Astronauts returns to Earth after spending 5 and a half months aboard the ISS

This past September 10, US astronaut Steve Swanson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev returned to Earth after spending 5 and a half months orbiting our planet aboard the International Space Station.

Information shared with the public says the space explorers left the International Station at 7:01 p.m. EDT aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule. Less than 3 and a half hours later, at 10:23 p.m., they landed in Kazakhstan.

Presently, the International Space Station is home to just 3 astronauts, i.e. Russian cosmonaut Maksim Suraev, NASA's Reid Wiseman, and Europe's Alexander Gerst. Come September 25, 3 other space explorers will be sent to the Station.

As detailed by Space, the three astronauts who returned to Earth just yesterday reached the International Space Station on March 27. About 2 weeks later, Steve Swanson took command of the flying lab. He was in charge until September 9, when Maksim Suraev took over.

“We had a good time, and I really appreciate everybody's help up here. Now it's come to an end, and so I'd like to hand over the command of the International Space Station to Maksim Suraev,” the astronaut said when giving up his rights as commandant of the lab.

The return of Steve Swanson, Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev to Earth, and Maksim Suraev's assuming control of the station mark the end of Expedition 40 and the debut of Expedition 41.