Soyuz Crew Returns Home: Expedition 48 touches down in Kazakhstan after 172 days in space

The crew of three -Russian Flight engineers: Aleksey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka, along with Jeffrey Williams Station commander with U.S. agency - on Tuesday left the International Space Station (ISS) as the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft undocked from the ISS at 21:51 GMT, said NASA mission commentator Rob Navias.

2 RUS cosmonauts & USA astronaut safely landed in Kazakhstan steppes, recieve gifts & calls https://t.co/dDvQeLAgVs pic.twitter.com/KSEkAiVmGg

— RT (@RT_com) September 7, 2016

According to Reuters, the capsule made a parachute descent 92 miles southeast of the town Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan, according to Russia's Mission Control Center (MCC), disappearing into a layer of haze as it neared the ground. It was several minutes until NASA could confirm the landing at 7:13 a.m. local time on Wednesday (9:13 p.m. EDT on Tuesday/0113 GMT on Wednesday).

Their estimated time flying back to Earth was around three hours. "The crewmembers' state of health is normal. The space travelers who have returned to Earth will undergo a medical check-up, after which Aleksey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka will be brought to Star City by plane, while Jeffrey Williams will take a flight to the US," Russia's Mission Control Center (MCC) told RIA Novosti.

Back on Earth: Expedition 48 returned from #ISS after 172 days in orbit. WATCH LIVE:https://t.co/7CEVKjIUs0 pic.twitter.com/eUvX4i9Z79 — RT (@RT_com) September 7, 2016

Williams, 58, returned to Earth with a career total of 534 days in orbit, more time than any other astronaut in U.S. history and 14th in the world, reports RT. "I will certainly miss this view!" Williams tweeted earlier on Tuesday, posting a picture of sunlight glinting off the planet. Meanwhile, three other space adventurers, Russia's Anatoly Ivanishin--who will now command the the $100 billion outpost, American Kathleen Rubins and Japan's Takuya Onishi will stay on the ISS, until the next expedition arrives.

A total of 200 military personnel, 12 specially equipped Mi-8 helicopters, four Antonov An-12 and An-26 aircrafts, along with a number of other special machinery took part in the search and rescue operation. A replacement crew is due to launch on Sept. 23 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.