SpaceX Crew-8 mission astronauts return to Earth

The Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission automatically undocked from the International Space Station on October 23, 2024, and began its journey back to Earth, where it successfully landed off the coast of Pensacola on October 25. Florida, USA.

Thus ended this nearly eight-month commercial scientific mission.

Astronauts Matthew Dominic, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps of NASA and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin of Roscosmos were launched into space on March 3, 2024, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 232 days have passed on board the space station.

During the mission, crew members traveled nearly 160 million kilometers, orbiting the Earth 3,760 times.

Scientific research they have worked on includes experiments with stem cells to develop organoids to study degenerative diseases, research into how fuel temperature affects the flammability of materials, and a study of how spaceflight affects the immune function of astronauts.

Crew 8 members (from left): Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin and NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominic and Jeanette Epps inside the Dragon spacecraft shortly after landing off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, October 25, 2024. (Photo: NASA/Joel Kowski)

Rescue teams from NASA and SpaceX soon arrived at the splashed-down spacecraft and helped the astronauts escape. The crew was transferred to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. At SpaceX’s facility at Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida, the Dragon spacecraft will be inspected and repaired for future missions. (Fountain: NCYT by Amazings)