Safe Return to Earth for US, Russian Astronauts

Moscow, 20 Apr (ONA) --- After seven months on the International Space Station (ISS), a US citizen and two Russians have returned safely to Earth.

The Soyuz capsule carrying astronaut Don Pettit and cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner landed at 0130 GMT today near Zhezkazgan on the steppes of the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos and the US space agency NASA.

The crew had been in space since 11 September 2024.

Despite the serious international political tensions in the wake of the Russian war against Ukraine, Russia and the US continue to work together when it comes to space exploration.

Astronauts repeatedly use Russian spacecraft to reach the ISS.

--- Ends/Khalid