Crew-5 Team Completes Historic Five-Month Mission Aboard International Space Station

NASA astronauts, a Japanese space veteran, and a Russian cosmonaut have completed their five-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The four-person Crew-5 team undocked from the ISS early Saturday morning, beginning their return trip home.

The Crew Dragon capsule, operated by SpaceX, departed from the ISS at 2:20 am ET, and is expected to splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico later Saturday night. Rescue ships will be waiting to haul the capsule out of the ocean and allow the astronauts to disembark.

During their 157-day mission, the Crew-5 team completed six spacewalks, installed two solar arrays, and built the infrastructure for two more solar arrays. They also welcomed five cargo vehicles and conducted hundreds of experiments.

“Before we started, our flight director referred to Expedition 68 as the ‘Iron Man,'” pilot Josh Cassada said last week. “And that was before the universe started throwing curveballs our way, and then it got really crazy.”

The Crew-5 mission marks the first full-duration mission to the ISS for all four astronauts. It is also the first time a Japanese astronaut has been part of a long-duration mission aboard the ISS. The astronauts will now return to Earth for a well-deserved rest.