Soyuz descent
A Russian Soyuz craft descends through the clouds toward its landing in Kazakhstan, bringing a U.S.-Russian-British crew back down to Earth. (Credit: Bill Ingalls / NASA)

Three spacefliers from the International Space Station made a photogenic return to Earth today, touching down in the steppes of Kazakhstan.

The landing marked the end of a 186-day tour of duty for NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, Britain’s Tim Peake and Russia’s Yuri Malenchenko. The homeward journey began when the trio’s Russian Soyuz capsule undocked from the station at 10:52 p.m. PT Friday, leading up to the parachute-assisted descent through partly cloudy skies a little more than three hours later.

NASA photographer Bill Ingalls and the European Space Agency’s Stephane Corvaja captured some classic scenes of the homecoming from a Russian recovery helicopter, and later from the ground:

Soyuz descent from space station
An aerial view shows the Soyuz capsule descending. (Credit: Bill Ingalls / NASA)
Soyuz touchdown
The Soyuz craft fires a retro blast to cushion the touchdown. (Credit: Stephane Corvaja / ESA)
Soyuz touchdown
The Soyuz craft stirs up a cloud of dust as it touches down. (Credit: Bill Ingalls / NASA)
Soyuz landing
The Soyuz landed on its side and had to be righted. (Credit: Stephane Corvaja / ESA)
Tim Kopra returns from station
NASA astronaut Tim Kopra flashes thumbs-up signs as he’s carried away from the Soyuz landing site. Returning spacefliers are traditionally carried to let them readjust to Earth’s gravity. (Credit: Bill Ingalls / NASA)
Space station crew
Spacefliers Tim Peake, Tim Kopra and Yuri Malenchenko face the cameras. (Credit: Stephane Corvaja / ESA)
Tim Peake after landing
British astronaut Tim Peake is all smiles as he sits in a recovery helicopter. (Credit: Stephane Corvaja / ESA)

The crew’s return marks the completion of data collection for several NASA studies aimed at gauging the effects of long-term spaceflight on various aspects of human health, including eyesight, cognition and the microbiome.

“It takes a long time to complete the number of subjects required for human research investigations – it’s usually years in the making – so this is a big milestone,” lead expedition scientist Yuri Guinart-Ramirez said in a blog posting about the studies earlier this month.

Today also marks the switchover from Expedition 47 to Expedition 48 on the space station. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams is now the commander of the orbiting outpost, with Russia’s Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin filling out the three-man crew.

Peake earned a place in space history by becoming the first astronaut to go into orbit on behalf of the British government under the auspices of the European Space Agency. (Other Britons have flown in space as NASA astronauts or private citizens.) He also holds the in-space record for running a marathon, albeit on a treadmill.

After a quick round of medical checks at the landing site, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, the three crewmates will head their separate ways for further debriefings and rehabilitation.

Meanwhile, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and Japanese spaceflier Takuya Onishi are preparing for their July 6 launch to the space station from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. Their arrival will bring the station’s crew back to its normal complement of six.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.