48 astronauts safely returned to the Earth after completing a 172-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft carrying astronaut Jeff Williams of NASA and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka of the Russian space agency Roscosmos landed near the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.
The Expedition 48 crew members contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science aboard humanity’s only orbiting laboratory.
Expedition 49 continues operating the station with Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos in command until the arrival of three new crew members.
Veteran NASA astronaut Williams has now spent 534 days in space, making him first on the all-time NASA astronaut list.
Shane Kimbrough of NASA and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on September 23.
