NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, safely returned to Earth on September 23, following a six-month research mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The trio departed the station aboard the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft at 2:06 pm IST, landing safely southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 5:29 pm IST in a parachute-assisted landing.

During her mission, NASA said, Dyson engaged in several groundbreaking scientific experiments, including the operation of a 3D bioprinter used to print cardiac tissue samples. This innovative research aims to advance technology for creating replacement organs and tissues for transplants on Earth. 

Dyson also contributed to the crystallisation of model proteins, part of an experiment that could enhance pharmaceutical production, and participated in a student-designed software program to control the station’s free-flying robots — an initiative meant to inspire the next generation of space innovators.

NASA posted a video of Dyson emerging from the spacecraft after it landed in Kazakhstan.  

Astronaut Tracy Dyson and her crewmates are safely home on Earth after today’s Soyuz landing at 7:59am ET (1159 UTC). Dyson has completed a six-month research mission on the @Space_Station, her third spaceflight: https://t.co/6ZPnqnAGvz pic.twitter.com/S3T7FHc2Z9

— NASA (@NASA) September 23, 2024

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Tracy C. Dyson Spent 6 Months Aboard ISS 

Dyson launched on March 23, arriving at the ISS two days later with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus. 

Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya spent 12 days aboard the station before returning to Earth on April 6 with NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara.

Dyson’s time in space spanned 184 days, during which she completed 2,944 orbits of Earth and travelled over 78 million miles. She also performed a 31-minute spacewalk, adding to her career total of 23 hours, 20 minutes across four spacewalks.

For Roscosmos cosmonauts Kononenko and Chub, the landing marked the end of a 374-day mission. Their journey encompassed 5,984 orbits of Earth, covering 158.6 million miles. Kononenko, on his fifth spaceflight, now holds the record for the most cumulative time spent in space, with 1,111 days in orbit, according to NASA. 

Chub completed his first spaceflight.

After landing, the crew will undergo routine medical evaluations before heading to the recovery staging city of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, NASA said, adding that Dyson will then return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, marking the end of her third spaceflight.

Before departing, Kononenko handed over the command of the International Space Station to Sunita Williams, whose eight-day mission got extended for eight months after the Boeing spacecraft that took her to the space station developed technical issues and had to be brought back uncrewed.