SpaceX's Dragon Returns NASA Astronauts After 7 Months in Space

Late on a Friday morning, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, marking the end of a seven-month stay on the International Space Station (ISS) for a group of American and Russian astronauts. This mission, known as Crew-8, included NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. They left the ISS on Wednesday and finished their journey with a splashdown off the coast of Florida around 3:30 a. m. EDT on Friday. Initially, their return was planned for mid-August, but the mission was extended due to potential evacuation needs for other astronauts. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived at the ISS via Boeing's Starliner capsule in June, faced technical issues with their return craft. Starliner ended up returning to Earth unmanned in September. Crew-8's return was also delayed due to weather issues, including Hurricane Milton which caused a canceled undocking attempt on October 7th. NASA's Crew-8 mission was the 13th human spaceflight mission for SpaceX and the eighth time NASA used the company's services to send astronauts to the ISS. During their stay, the astronauts conducted over 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations. These included studies on stem cells to understand degenerative diseases, the effects of microgravity and UV radiation on plants, and how pressure cuffs could mitigate health issues in space. Looking ahead, NASA plans to reduce the crew size for SpaceX's Crew-9 mission, launched in September, to accommodate the return of Williams and Wilmore. They are scheduled to return with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov in February 2025. Future missions like Crew-10 and Crew-11 are also in the pipeline, expected to launch in February 2025 and July 2025, respectively.