Space

Soyuz Space Capsule Finally Goes Back, Here's What You Need To Know About Its Journey

Brooke James
First Posted: Oct 31, 2016 05:40 AM EDT

Three astronauts landed back to earth after 115 days on the International Space Station. Returning on a Russian Soyuz Space capsule are astronauts Kate Rubins of NASA, Russian Cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi. The three of them landed near Kazakhstan at around 9:58 AM local time on Sunday, October 30.

Space.com reported that NASA spokesman Rob Navias confirmed the touchdown during the agency's landing webcast commentary. "After a journey of 115 days and 48.9 million miles, the Expedition 49 crew is home."

The said Expedition 49 was reported by NPR.org as a collaboration between NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. During their time in space, they have been conducting physics and biology experiments, also upgrading parts of the station as well as handling the arrival of three resupply ships.

The spacecraft's departure from the station marked the endo of the Expedition 49 and the beginning of Expedition 50, as the three crew members launched to the station together on July 6 - the first spaceflight for Rubins and Onishi. During her time in orbit, Rubins participated in a spacewalk to help install an international docking adapter, which allows for commercial vehicles to dock in the station in the future. Ivanishin, meanwhile, flew to the station in 2011 as a member of expeditions 29 and 30.

All three astronauts will be confined to wheelchairs while their bodies re-adjust to the Earth's gravity. However, when asked by members of the landing recovery team how she was feeling, Rubins said that she was feeling "better than expected" adding that what she wants right now is to sit and "enjoy the Earth."

Not that she didn't love being in outer space - she described the time as "more awesome, amazing, and terrifying that you can possibly imagine."

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