Soyuz MS-26 Returns Safely to Earth with International Crew

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft safely returned to Earth on Sunday, carrying Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, along with NASA astronaut Donald Pettit. The landing occurred southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 6:20 a.m. local time (01:20 GMT), according to Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos. The descent and landing procedures were reported as nominal.

The crew’s return marks the end of a 220-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), during which they orbited the Earth 3,520 times and traveled approximately 150 million kilometers. The trio were central to Expedition 72, conducting numerous scientific experiments, including research into metal 3D printing in microgravity, water sanitization systems, plant biology, and fire dynamics in space.

Career Milestones and Next Steps

This mission was the fourth spaceflight for Pettit, who now has a total of 590 days in orbit. Ovchinin completed his third mission, bringing his career total to 595 days, while Vagner wrapped up his second, accumulating 416 days in space.

The crew first docked with the ISS on September 11, 2024. On Friday, they officially handed over command to Expedition 73, led by Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, in a ceremonial transition aboard the station.

After landing, the astronauts were transported by helicopter to the recovery staging area in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Pettit will return to Houston aboard a NASA aircraft, while Ovchinin and Vagner are set to travel to Star City, Russia, for post-mission debriefings.

A Rare Channel of U.S.-Russia Cooperation

Despite strained geopolitical relations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, joint missions to the ISS remain a rare and ongoing area of cooperation between the United States and Russia. Earlier in April, the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft launched a new crew—including NASA astronaut Jonathan Kim and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Alexei Zubritsky—for another extended science mission aboard the ISS.

While collaboration continues in space, most other Western partnerships with Roscosmos have been suspended as part of sanctions imposed on Russia. Astronauts representing Roscosmos are formally referred to as cosmonauts, while their U.S. and European counterparts retain their respective agency titles.