A US-Russian space crew lands safely in Kazakhstan after an 8-month stint on the ISS - AP News

What the report says

The Associated Press reported that a joint U.S.-Russian crew returned to Earth on Sunday after spending eight months aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev came down in Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, landing by parachute in a planned zone southeast of Dzhezkazgan.

According to AP, the mission lasted 241 days. It was the first spaceflight for Williams and Mikaev, while Kud-Sverchkov was completing his second mission. After recovery, the crew was to be transported by helicopter to Karaganda. Williams was expected to continue to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, while the two Russian crew members were to travel to Star City, the cosmonaut training center near Moscow.

The landing comes as the United States and Russia continue operational cooperation in human spaceflight despite severe strains in broader relations following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. AP noted that crews from both countries still travel to the station on each other’s spacecraft, reflecting the long-running interdependence built into the ISS program.

AP also reported that a replacement crew had arrived at the station after launching from the Russia-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 14. That group included NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, joining other U.S., European and Russian crew members as part of Expedition 75.