SpaceX Dragon returns astronauts home after months on space station

An international crew of astronauts returned home in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft Monday morning.

The astronauts, known as “Crew-6,” splashed down off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., after a mission to the International Space Station, according to NASA’s website. The crew featured two NASA astronauts, Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

“After spending six months aboard the International Space Station, logging nearly 79 million miles during their mission, and completing hundreds of scientific experiments for the benefit of all humanity, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 has returned home to planet Earth,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a release. 

The three-nation crew “demonstrated humanity’s shared ambition to reach new cosmic shores. The contributions of Crew-6 will help prepare NASA to return to the Moon under Artemis, continue onward to Mars, and improve life here on Earth,” Nelson continued.

NASA said they covered 78,875,292 miles during their 184-day mission, including 2,976 orbits around Earth.

“Throughout their mission, the Crew-6 members contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations,” the press release said. “Bowen conducted three spacewalks, joined by Hoburg for two, and Alneyadi for one, preparing the station for and installing two new IROSAs (International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays) to augment power generation for the station.”