A safe return to Earth for the Expedition 36 crew

Space · Published 12 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: After 166 days orbiting the planet, three astronauts have successfully landed on the Kazakh steppe to begin their transition back to gravity.

Alongside NASA Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy, the Russian Federal Space Agency team—comprising Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin and Commander Pavel Vinogradov—detached their Soyuz TMA-08M from the International Space Station's Poisk module. Following their landing on September 11 local time, the trio began the process of adapting to Earth's gravity while being assisted by Russian personnel.

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