A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russian astronauts and one American has landed in Kazakhstan concluding a record-breaking stay for the Russian duo aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The capsule touched down on the Kazakh steppe approximately 3.5 hours after undocking from the space station.
The descent was reportedly trouble-free, with the capsule descending under a red-and-white parachute at about 7.2 meters per second (16 mph).
Small rockets were fired in the final seconds to cushion the landing.
Upon landing, the astronauts were to be extracted from the capsule and placed in nearby chairs.
This process helps them adjust to Earth’s gravity before undergoing medical examinations in a nearby tent.
Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub returned after an impressive 374 days aboard the space station.
They broke the record for the longest continuous stay in the space station on Friday.
American astronaut Tracy Dyson was also aboard the capsule, having spent six months at the space station.
Currently, eight astronauts remain on the space station, including Americans Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
Wilmore and Williams have stayed well past their scheduled return date.
They arrived in June as the first crew of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule.
However, their mission faced issues with thruster troubles and helium leaks.
NASA deemed it too risky for them to return on the Starliner capsule.
The two astronauts are expected to return home with SpaceX next year.