Astronauts Return Safely to Earth From Space Station

International Space Station crew member Serena Aunon-Chancellor of the United States reacts after the landing of the Soyuz MS-09 capsule in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Dec. 20, 2018. Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov

Three members of the International Space Station’s crew returned safely to Earth on Dec. 20, landing in Kazakhstan on a Russian Soyuz craft, NASA reported.

It was the first return from the space station since October, when U.S. astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin landed unharmed on the Kazakh steppe after their rocket bound for the station failed two minutes after liftoff.