Splashdown Success: NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 Returns To Earth After 157 Days In Orbit

A four-member crew aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 Dragon capsule splashed down off the coast of Tampa Bay, Florida, on Saturday, returning safely from a five-month mission on the International Space Station, or ISS.

What Happened: On Saturday, at 9:02 p.m. EST, NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, along with Koichi Wakata, an astronaut with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, returned to Earth in a parachute-assisted splashdown, stated the U.S. space agency. The spacecraft and spacefarers were recovered by crews on SpaceX recovery vessels.

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In a tweet, Elon Musk-owned SpaceX shared a short video of the splashdown.

Splashdown of Dragon confirmed – welcome back to Earth, @AstroDuke, @Astro_Josh, @Astro_Wakata, and Anna! pic.twitter.com/LHrrqL5g6U

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 12, 2023

The four-member crew was in space for 157 days. On Oct. 5, 2022, at 12 p.m. EDT, a Falcon 9 rocket launched the Crew-5 mission from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During their mission, the Crew-5 team participated in various scientific experiments, technology demonstrations and maintenance activities.

Upon their return, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson expressed his appreciation for the team's efforts, noting that their work on the ISS “will help prepare us for future deep space missions and pave the way for our return to the Moon.”

The return of the Crew-5 was close on the heels of the successful launch of NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 on March 3. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried four astronauts safely to orbit. The crew docked at the ISS.

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