US, Russian astronauts return safely to Earth after 8-month mission aboard ISS

A joint US-Russian crew safely returned to Earth on Sunday after spending more than eight months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), marking another milestone in continued space cooperation between Washington and Moscow despite broader geopolitical tensions. Nasa astronaut Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev landed aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft in the steppes of Kazakhstan after completing a 241-day mission in orbit. The Soyuz capsule touched down under parachutes in a designated landing area southeast of Dzhezkazgan. Crew heads home after 241 days in orbit Following the landing, the crew was scheduled to travel by helicopter to Karaganda. From there, Williams will fly back to Nasa's Johnson Space Centre in Houston, while Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev will return to Russia's Star City training base near Moscow. CJP Jantar Mantar Protest Updates The mission was the first spaceflight for Williams and Mikaev, while it marked Kud-Sverchkov's second journey to space. US-Russia space cooperation continues despite tensions Although the United States and Russia were fierce rivals during the Cold War-era space race, the two countries have continued to collaborate on the International Space Station and other space programmes. That cooperation has persisted even after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 strained diplomatic ties. Both countries have continued to exchange crews, with American astronauts flying aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft and Russian cosmonauts travelling on US missions under a seat-swap arrangement. Earlier this month, on July 14, Nasa astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina arrived at the ISS for an eight-month mission after launching from the Russia-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman attended the launch, marking the first visit by a Nasa chief to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in eight years. The newly arrived trio joined Nasa astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev as part of Expedition 75 aboard the orbiting laboratory.