Four astronauts from the SpaceX Crew-2 mission returned to Earth on Monday night via a splashdown off the coast of Pensacola in the Gulf of Mexico According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA’s webcast shows that astronauts came out of the cabin in good health after spending over six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). According to NASA, the astronauts are Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the return of Crew-2 mission members precedes the launch of Crew-3 mission.
NASA and SpaceX have been collaborating in recent years on the development of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is designed to transport crews to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The SpaceX Crew-3 mission will launch on Wednesday night from Kennedy Space Center.