SpaceX Crew-10 Astronauts Plummet Back to Earth

Five astronauts from the United States, Japan, and Russia began their journey home from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, concluding a nearly five-month mission. The Crew-10 team, consisting of US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, and Russia’s Kirill Peskov, detached from the ISS at 2215 GMT and is expected to splash down off California’s coast at 1533 GMT on Saturday after a 17-hour descent.

The return marks the completion of NASA’s 10th crew rotation mission under its Commercial Crew Program, a post-Space Shuttle initiative partnering with private companies like SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk. The Dragon capsule will endure a high-speed re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, slowed by massive parachutes to ensure a safe landing in the Pacific Ocean, where a SpaceX recovery ship will retrieve it.

During their mission, the Crew-10 astronauts conducted critical experiments, including studies on plant growth and cellular responses to microgravity, advancing scientific knowledge for future space exploration. Their launch in March 2025 also facilitated the return of US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were stranded on the ISS for nine months after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft, intended for an eight-day test flight in June 2024, encountered propulsion issues. NASA recently announced Wilmore’s retirement after 25 years of service.

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Last week, a new crew—US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui, and Russia’s Oleg Platonov—arrived at the ISS for a six-month mission. As Crew-10 prepares to breathe Earth’s air again, their return underscores the success of NASA’s collaboration with SpaceX in sustaining human presence in space.

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