Crew-12 returns to Earth after almost eight months
Four astronauts left the International Space Station after a mission that lasted longer than planned.
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Four astronauts from SpaceX Crew-12 returned to Earth on Thursday after almost eight months on the International Space Station. The crew landed in a Dragon capsule in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
The crew consisted of NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Their return marks the end of a joint mission by NASA, ESA and Roscosmos.
Crew-12 departed from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 13 February and docked with the space station a day later. NASA said beforehand that the crew would remain in orbit around Earth for about eight months. The return became possible after the next crew had reached the station.
The replacement took place later than initially planned. NASA reported that the successors were delayed by three weeks because of repairs to their capsule. Crew-13 subsequently arrived on 1 October, after which Crew-12 was able to leave the station without bringing its research activities to a halt.
During their stay, the astronauts carried out maintenance and worked on research in microgravity. NASA describes the mission as part of the ongoing research aboard the space station. Which experiments ultimately produce the most important results usually only becomes clear after analysis on Earth.
After landing, the crew was first examined medically and will be exposed to Earth's gravity again over the coming period. After a long stay in space, astronauts must gradually regain their fitness and balance. This is a standard part of the return procedure and is not an indication that anything is wrong with this crew.
The space station remains crewed. The new crew is taking over daily maintenance and experiments. At the same time, the mission shows how dependent international spaceflight is on precise planning: a problem with one capsule can extend an entire crew's stay.
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This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The mission's factual details have been confirmed by NASA and ESA and checked against AP. The text makes no claims about research results that have not yet been published.
- confirmed Four astronauts returned on 8 October after almost eight months in space. — AP and ESA report the return and the duration of the mission. source
- confirmed Crew-12 consisted of Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev. — NASA explicitly names the four crew members. source
- confirmed The incoming crew arrived before Crew-12 departed. — AP and NASA describe the crew change and the delay to Crew-13. source
Editor's note
NASA, ESA and AP confirm the crew, departure date, return and duration. The scientific results of the mission are not yet fully known; for that reason, no breakthrough claims have been included.Sources
- NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 Saying Farewell — NASA
- Watch Sophie Adenot return to Earth — European Space Agency
- Four astronauts return to Earth after eight months in space — Associated Press
More on this in Dutch media
- AD — „crew-12 iss”
- de Volkskrant — „crew-12 iss”
- RTL Nieuws — „crew-12 iss”