Skip to main content

NASA’s Crew-7 astronauts splash down safely off the coast of Florida

NASA’s Crew-7 mission has splashed down without incident off the coast of Florida, with the four astronauts on board returning safely from the International Space Station (ISS). The crew spent a total of 199 days orbiting the Earth and are now headed to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to rest and recover.

The crew traveled in a SpaceX Dragon capsule that undocked from the ISS on Monday, March 11, and splashed down at 5:47 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 12. The group arrived at the station in late August 2023, and spent their time in orbit performing research and maintenance tasks.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, left, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Borisov are returning after nearly six-months in space as part of Expedition 70 aboard the International Space Station.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, from left, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa smile while inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. NASA/Joel Kowsky

“After more than six months aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 has safely returned home,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a statement. “This international crew showed that space unites us all. It’s clear that we can do more – we can learn more – when we work together. The science experiments conducted during their time in space will help prepare for NASA’s bold missions at the moon, Mars, and beyond, all while benefiting humanity here on Earth.”

Recommended Videos

The crew consists of NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov. According to NASA, the group traveled a total of 84,434,094 miles while on board the space station and completed over 3,000 orbits around the Earth.

Among the work performed by Crew-7 was research into how the human immune system is affected by spaceflight and how microgravity affects liver cells in a way similar to aging. They also tested a new system for purifying wastewater. Members of the group also spoke to Nelson from the space station, talking about the research they were performing and about their life in orbit.

The astronauts have been replaced at the space station by the recently arrived Crew-8, which consists of three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut. This group is working alongside one other NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts who arrived in September 2023 on a Russian Soyuz vehicle, bringing the current ISS crew to seven people.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina is the Digital Trends space writer, covering human space exploration, planetary science, and cosmology. She…
NASA selects new date for Starliner’s crewed return
Boeing Space's Starliner docked at the International Space Station in June 2024.

The Starliner spacecraft is shown docked to the Harmony module’s forward port at the International Space Station, 263 miles above the Mediterranean Sea. NASA

Boeing Space’s Starliner crew capsule is now expected to depart the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, June 25, NASA has said.

Read more
This is how a NASA astronaut will swab the ISS exterior for microbes
An animation showing a preview of NASA's first spacewalk of 2024.

Two astronauts will soon be embarking on NASA’s first spacewalk of 2024 at the International Space Station (ISS).

Today, Americans Tracy C. Dyson and Matt Dominick will conduct some maintenance work and also swab exterior surfaces on the station’s Destiny and Quest modules for analysis that should determine whether microorganisms released through station vents can survive the external, and very hostile, microgravity environment.

Read more
NASA confirms readiness for highly anticipated crewed mission
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrive back at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 28, ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrive back at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 28, ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. NASA/Cory S. Huston

NASA and Boeing Space teams have confirmed their readiness to proceed with Saturday’s first crewed launch of the Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS).

Read more