【Foreign Archives】

Three humans who spent months aboard the International Space Station came home Sunday housed within a tiny capsule beneath a parachute descending to Earth.

New photos released by NASA show the return of NASA astronaut Kate Rubins,Foreign Archives Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi to Earth, coming in for a sunlit landing in remote Kazakhstan Sunday.

SEE ALSO: Float calmly through the International Space Station with this new NASA video

The trio of Space Station crewmembers just finished spending 115 days in space performing experiments and just living life on the orbiting outpost.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The three crew members returned to the planet's surface aboard a Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft. The ship, which is the only crew-carrying craft currently flying to the Space Station, is designed to bring astronauts and cosmonauts to the station and deliver them home again after their stay.

The Soyuz looked pretty banged up after entering the Earth's atmosphere on Sunday, but it kept its precious cargo safe nonetheless.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

After coming back down to Earth, Rubins, Ivanishin and Onishi were put through a battery of medical tests to see how they fared after months in the weightlessness of the Space Station.

But before being taken away for testing, the three accomplished space explorers were taken from their capsule and carried to chairs with comfy looking blankets to keep them warm as they got the chance to speak on satellite phones and to their handlers.

While the lounge chairs look goofy, they actually serve a specific purpose. During their time on the station, crew members don't feel the tug of gravity at all, so coming back to Earth can be a rough ride for a body unused to feeling its own weight.

The chairs are used to help ease astronauts and cosmonauts before trying to stand or walk.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Rubins, Ivanishin and Onishi left the station in the hands of three other crewmembers that should live and work aboard the huge laboratory for months before coming home in the same way as those before them.

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, one of the crew members aboard the station now, also got a good look at the departing crew Saturday as they undocked.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In mid-November, three more — NASA's Peggy Whitson, cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and European astronaut Thomas Pesquet — are scheduled to launch to the Space Station, bringing it back up to its full crew of six.

• Science
• Shopping
• Deals
• Tech
• Life
• Digital Culture
• Entertainment
• Social Good

• Your 'wrong person' texts may be linked to Myanmar warlord
• Pizza Hut wants you to use the PS5 to keep your pizza warm
• Espresso machines up to 50% off: Shop Nespresso, De'Longhi, Café, and more
• Best coffee machine deal: Save $53.98 on Nespresso Vertuo Pop+
• Today's Hurdle hints and answers for April 17, 2025
• Best Black Friday VPN deal: 61% off ExpressVPN
• Best early Black Friday AirPods deal: Get AirPods 3 for under $100
• Man leaked classified Pentagon docs via Discord — now he’s sentenced to 15 years in prison
• AMD Radeon RX 550 + Intel Pentium G4560
• Wordle today: The answer and hints for November 12

• Elon Musk has bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter
• Twitter is working on an edit button
• Why the pedestrian dignity movement should be your next accessibility cause
• Chrissy Teigen made a very good Instagram story about a snail
• West Virginia will use blockchain smartphone voting in 2018 midterms
• 'The Office' stars chat about Dwight's Earth Day character, Recyclops
• The only good thing left on Facebook is private meme groups
• 6 secret apps to hide your sexy photos
• Elon Musk, Twitter's largest shareholder, asks if users want an edit button
• I tried the Amazon Plants Store and got covered in wet dirt

• Today's Hurdle hints and answers for May 5, 2025
• NYT Strands hints, answers for November 14
• Wordle today: The answer and hints for November 13
• Best Black Friday VPN deal: 61% off ExpressVPN
• Episode 4: The Wave of the Future
• NYT Strands hints, answers for November 14
• Best Black Friday stabilizer deal: 22% off DJI Ronin
• Apple Intelligence on Mac: 5 AI
• Best keyboard deals: Save on Asus gaming keyboards at Amazon
• Commanders vs. Eagles 2024 livestream: How to watch Thursday Night Football for free

• A worthless juicer and a Gipper-branded server
• Best Black Friday Live Streamer deal: Save $100 on AVerMedia Live Streamer AX310
• Best streaming deal: Get the Amazon Fire TV Cube for $99.99
• Best streaming deal: Get the Amazon Fire TV Cube for $99.99
• Best roborock deal: Save $400 on Q5 Pro+ Robot Vacuum and Mop
• Meta cuts EU ad
• Best Peloton Guide deal: 77% off at Amazon
• iOS 18.2 release date leak: Here’s when Genmoji, Image Playground could get a stable public release
• 'The Last of Us' Season 2, episode 4: Why Ellie sings 'Take on Me'
• Apple will let you share location of lost items with airlines