NASA SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts safely splash down in Atlantic after 170 days in orbit

tech.hindustantimes.com:

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts, who spent 170 days in orbit aboard the Dragon spacecraft, completed the agency's fourth commercial crew mission to the International Space Station by safely splashing down the coast of Jacksonville, Florida on Friday.

NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti returned to Earth in a parachute-assisted splashdown at 4:55 p.m. EDT.

Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and astronauts. After returning to shore, all astronauts will fly to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Cristoforetti then will board a plane to Europe.

"Welcome home Crew-4! This international crew has spent nearly six months on the International Space Station conducting science for the benefit of all. Their work aboard the orbiting laboratory will help prepare future explorers for future space missions," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

He added, "Working and living on the space station is the opportunity of a lifetime, but it also requires these explorers to make sacrifices, especially time away from loved ones. Kjell, Bob, Jessica and Samantha, thank you for your contributions over the past six months to science, innovation, and discovery!"

The Crew-4 mission launched at 3:52 a.m. EDT on April 27 on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Less than 16 hours later, Dragon docked to the Harmony module's space-facing port. The astronauts undocked from the same port at 12:05 p.m. on Friday, to begin the trip home.

Hines, Lindgren, Watkins, and Cristoforetti travelled 72,168,935 miles during their mission, spent 170 days aboard the space station, and completed 2,720 orbits around Earth.