NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos Cosmonauts Complete Successful 8-Month Space Station Mission

Washington DC:

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky safely returned to Earth on Tuesday following an extensive eight-month scientific mission aboard the International Space Station. Their work focused on research beneficial to humanity and future space exploration initiatives.

The crew landed safely via parachute-assisted descent at 10:03am local time in Kazakhstan, southeast of Dzhezkazgan. Their journey home began when they departed the space station at 8:41pm on December 8 in the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft.

During their 245-day mission in space, the crew completed 3,920 orbits around Earth and traveled approximately 104 million miles since their April 8 launch. This mission represented the first spaceflight experience for Kim and Zubritsky, while veteran cosmonaut Ryzhikov concluded his third space mission, accumulating a total of 603 days in orbit.

While on the International Space Station, Kim participated in numerous scientific investigations and technology demonstrations. His work included studying bioprinted tissues containing blood vessels in microgravity, advancing research that could enhance tissue production for medical treatments on Earth. Kim also evaluated the remote operation of multiple robots for the Surface Avatar study, contributing to the development of robotic assistants for future exploration missions.

Furthermore, Kim worked on manufacturing DNA-mimicking nanomaterials in space, research that could potentially improve drug delivery technologies and support advancements in therapeutics and regenerative medicine.

After completing post-landing medical evaluations, the crew will be transported to a recovery staging area in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Kim will subsequently board a NASA aircraft to return to the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The International Space Station has continuously hosted human presence for over 25 years, enabling scientific advancements and research breakthroughs impossible to achieve on Earth. The station serves as a crucial testing environment for NASA to understand and overcome challenges associated with long-duration spaceflight while expanding commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit.

As commercial entities focus on developing human space transportation services and destinations within a growing low Earth orbit economy, NASA is directing its resources toward deep space missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign, preparing for future human expeditions to Mars.