The Soyuz MS-24 capsule successfully landed in Kazakhstan with two women and one man on board after completing their missions aboard the International Space Station. The crew members included Russia’s Oleg Novitsky, NASA’s Loral O’Hara, and Marina Vasilevskaya from Belarus. The capsule landed southeast of Dzhezkazgan at 12:17 p.m. Kazakh time. The remaining crew members at the space station are NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Tracy Dyson, and Jeannette Epps, as well as Russian cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko. O’Hara spent a total of 204 days at the space station after arriving on September 15, 2023, while Novitsky and Vasilevskaya launched on March 23 after a two-day delay due to a technical issue.
The delay in the launch resulted in a longer journey to the space station, with the crew completing 34 orbits instead of the initial plan for a shorter trip of only two orbits. The Soyuz spacecraft carrying Novitsky, Vasilevskaya, and Dyson was scheduled to launch on March 21 but was aborted due to a voltage drop in a power source. The crew eventually reached the space station safe and sound, continuing the long-standing tradition of international cooperation at the orbiting outpost. The space station is one of the few remaining areas of collaboration between Russia and the West amid tensions over Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine, and NASA and its partners are aiming to keep the station operational until 2030.
Despite the geopolitical tensions, Russia has maintained its reliance on Soviet-designed rockets for commercial satellite launches, as well as transporting crews and cargo to the space station. The successful landing of the Soyuz MS-24 capsule marks another chapter in the history of space exploration and cooperation between nations. The crew members have returned to Earth after fulfilling their missions in orbit, contributing valuable research and data to the scientific community. As the space station continues to serve as a symbol of international cooperation in space exploration, efforts are being made to ensure its continued operation for years to come. The safe return of the crew from their space missions highlights the dedication and expertise of astronauts and cosmonauts from different countries working together in the challenging environment of space.
