Three astronauts return to Earth
- Published
The team has spent nearly 200 days in space
Three astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) have returned to Earth, one month after a rocket failure delayed an earlier attempt.
Their spacecraft landed safely on Thursday in Kazakhstan.
The commander of Expedition 43, Terry Virts, and his crewmates Anton Shkaplerov and Samantha Cristoforetti had spent six months on board the ISS carrying out scientific research and technology demonstrations.
Terry Virts, Anton Shkaplerov and Samantha Cristoforetti waved goodbye as the hatch closed
Samanatha has set the record for most time in space on a single mission by a woman after clocking up more than 200 days.
Before they left they handed control of the ISS over to Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, after nearly 200 days in space.
Samantha Cristoforetti introduced a coffee machine to the ISS
According to US space agency Nasa, they have travelled more than 84 million miles since their launch into space on 24 November.
Three more astronauts are due to arrive at the International Space Station in July.
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