NASA Crew‑12 Returns After Eight‑Month ISS Stay

NASA’s Crew‑12 astronauts and cosmonaut have splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off Los Angeles after an almost eight‑month stay on the International Space Station. The crew — commander Jessica Meir, pilot Jack Hathaway, ESA flight engineer Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev — landed Thursday aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that fired its thrusters 45 minutes before reentry to drop from an orbital speed of about 17,500 mph. The capsule’s ablative heat shield endured temperatures near 3,500 °F as it plunged through the atmosphere, then four parachutes slowed it to roughly 16 mph before a gentle splash. Crew‑12 was SpaceX’s 20th crewed flight, launching in February on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral and docking with the station the following day. Over the eight‑month mission the crew completed dozens of experiments, studying stem cells, crystal growth and bone loss in microgravity. Meir logged four spacewalks totaling just over 27 hours, while Adenot performed three. Their work helped maintain and upgrade the aging outpost. The departing crew handed the station over to the incoming Crew‑13 members, who arrived last week for a six‑month rotation. In a pre‑departure press briefing, Meir said she was eager to reunite with her 3½‑year‑old daughter and to feel the breeze and rustling leaves again, noting she would miss weightlessness and the Earth’s view. ## Context SpaceX’s Crew Dragon now routinely carries NASA and partner agency crews to the ISS, a shift from government‑run rockets to commercial launch services that expands flight frequency and lowers costs.