Three Astronauts Successfully Landed In The Desert After 173 Days In Space

Two Russian astronauts and a NASA American astronaut returned to Earth after 173 days from the International Space Station (ISS). They landed in the desert near the city of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on April 1, 2017.

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and Russian astronauts Andrey Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz MS-02 had a clean landing in the desert. Rob Navias, a NASA spokesman, said that it was a textbook touchdown. He further said that the Soyuz spacecraft was pulled by its main parachute onto its side. On the other hand, the crew was briefly separated and in good condition.

What a view! 3 astronauts returned to Earth yesterday after spending 173 days at @Space_Station https://t.co/b9tY4miXGV pic.twitter.com/iy7WWijZFE

— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) April 11, 2017

The astronauts aboard the spacecraft and their landing were filmed perfectly. There are recovery forces on the landing site and helicopters circled around the field. As they landed, the astronauts were pulled from the Soyuz spacecraft and the medical personnel checked them, according to ABC 13.

.@Astro_Kimbrough is back in Houston. Welcome home Shane! pic.twitter.com/cyPtrDZWoW — NASA Astronauts (@NASA_Astronauts) April 11, 2017

Kimbrough, Borisenko and Ryzhikov had completed 2,768 orbits of the planet, which is a journey of about 73.2 million miles. The astronauts bid goodbye to other three astronauts on the International Space Station. They are NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, the first woman commander of the ISS and who set a record for spending more time in space and having the most spacewalks done by a woman, European Space Agency's Thomas Pesquet and cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, according to The Washington Post.

Kimbrough and the other astronauts hugged Whitson before boarding the Soyuz spacecraft. After the successful landing, they said they feel well and could probably rest for a while before returning to work, according to NASA.