Splashdown! NASA's Crew-6 returns after 6 months at the International Space Station

In this image from video made available by NASA, the SpaceX Crew Dragon, slowed by parachutes, splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, as it returns to Earth with NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev after a six-month stay at the International Space Station. NASA via AP hide caption

toggle caption NASA via AP

In this image from video made available by NASA, the SpaceX Crew Dragon, slowed by parachutes, splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, as it returns to Earth with NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev after a six-month stay at the International Space Station.

NASA via AP

Three astronauts and one cosmonaut have returned to earth, successfully completing a .

mission with a fiery nighttime launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It ended Monday, after nearly 3,000 orbits of the earth and 79 million miles traveled, just after midnight ET on Labor Day.

The capsule Endeavour pierced the atmosphere at 17,000 mph, its heat shield enduring temperatures hotter than 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Over the course of an hour, the capsule eventually slowed to a leisurely 15 mph under a canopy of parachutes with a gentle touchdown in the Atlantic Ocean off Jacksonville, Fla.

The splashdown capped a mission that spent a half-year on the International Space Station. Two NASA astronauts - mission commander and pilot - along with United Arab Emirates astronaut and Russian cosmonaut - also served as flight engineers aboard the I.S.S.

They conducted more than . Those included research on human health such as how monoclonal antibodies behave in microgravity. They also investigated how wave turbulence in space affects fuel in satellites.

In addition to the science experiments, Bowen, Hoburg and AlNeyadi conducted . They upgraded the space station's power systems and installed on the orbital outpost which has been .

The Crew-6 mission was relieved by the which launched and arrived at the I.S.S. in late August. They'll also spend six months aboard the space station with an expected return in February 2024.

The four members of Crew-6 aboard the International Space Station pose for a portrait in their pressure suits. Clockwise from bottom, are NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen; United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi; NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg; and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Credit: NASA hide caption

toggle caption Credit: NASA

The four members of Crew-6 aboard the International Space Station pose for a portrait in their pressure suits. Clockwise from bottom, are NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen; United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi; NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg; and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

Credit: NASA