Three members of the Soyuz MS-27 crew, Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky from the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and NASA's Jonny Kim, landed safely in the coldcast Kazakhstan grassland on December 9.
The parachute-high lowering spacecraft and acceleration systems, according to the Russian space agency. Immediately after the spacecraft landed, the Roscosmos rescue team in coordination with NASA representatives arrived, supporting the evacuation of each person from the cabin for initial medical examination.
Ryzhikov and Kim appeared in stable and well-off condition, while Zubritsky was transferred directly to the health tent for more thorough health assessment.
After completing initial procedures, all three will be taken by helicopter to Karaganda, where the rescue team is stationed in Kazakhstan. From here, Mr. Kim was transferred to a NASA plane to Houston (USA), while Mr. Ryzhikov and Mr. Zubritsky will return to the Gagarin Astronaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.
Their journey back to Earth began when the Soyuz left the Prichal modular, marking the official end of the Expedition 73 mission and the opening of Expedition 74.
In the previous command transfer ceremony, Mr. Kim shared that what he cherished most after 8 months of living and working in space was the bond between the members.
He emphasized that the most precious thing for an astronaut is not just technical ability or dedication, but love for his teammates, ground-based support and the planets they serve.
At the International Space Station, the Expedition 74 mission continues with Commander Mike Fincke, along with NASA's astronauts Zena Cardman and Chris Williams, Kimiya Yui of the Japan Space Agency (JAXA) and Roscosmos' cosmodite pilots Oleg platonov, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev.
