Astronauts’ Earthbound Odyssey Concludes

Three astronauts are set to return to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS), marking the end of a 245-day mission in space. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, will depart the ISS aboard the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft. The trio is scheduled to undock from the ISS’s Prichal module at 8:41 p.m. EST on December 8, with a planned landing in Kazakhstan on December 9.

The return journey will conclude with a parachute-assisted landing southeast of the city of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 12:04 a.m. EST. This mission marks the first journey to the orbiting laboratory for Kim and Zubritsky, while Ryzhikov completes his third space voyage. Over their nearly eight-month tenure on the ISS, the crew orbited Earth 3,920 times and traveled close to 104 million miles.

NASA has organized comprehensive coverage of the crew’s return journey, which will be available live on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Coverage will include the space station change of command ceremony on December 7, where Rzyhikov will hand over command to NASA astronaut Mike Fincke ahead of Expedition 74, followed by the undocking and landing events.

Following their landing, the astronauts will be transported by helicopter to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where recovery teams are stationed. From there, Jonny Kim will board a NASA aircraft back to Houston, while his Russian counterparts will head to their training base in Star City, Russia. This mission and its successful completion continue to underscore the importance of international cooperation in space exploration and the ongoing efforts to understand and manage long-duration spaceflight.

For more information on the ISS and its scientific endeavors, visit NASA’s official website.