NASA Welcomes Crew-7’s Return to Earth After Safely Splashing Down

The SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft is seen as it splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 5:47 a.m. EDT, returning Crew-7 to Earth.
The SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft is seen as it splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 5:47 a.m. EDT, returning Crew-7 to Earth. Photo credit: NASA TV.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov splashed down safely in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 5:47 a.m. EDT, completing a six-month science mission spent aboard the International Space Station.

Teams on the SpaceX recovery ship, including two fast boats, now are in the process of securing Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for recovery. As the fast boat teams complete their work, the recovery ship will move into position to hoist Dragon onto the main deck with the Crew-7 crew members inside. Once on the main deck, the crew will be taken out of the spacecraft and undergo medical checks before a short helicopter ride to board a plane for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA, SpaceX, and international partner representatives will hold a media teleconference later this morning, at 7 a.m. EDT, to discuss the Crew-7 mission and the crew’s return to Earth. The teleconference will be streamed live on NASA’s YouTube channel. Participants include:

  • Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
  • Jeff Arend, manager for systems engineering and integration, NASA’s International Space Station Office
  • Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Programs, SpaceX
  • Eric van der Wal, Houston office team leader, ESA
  • Hiroshi Sasaki, vice president for human spaceflight and exploration, JAXA

Learn more about commercial crew and space station activities by following @commercial_crew@Space_Station@ISS_Research on X, as well as the Commercial Crew Facebook, ISS Facebook, and ISS Instagram accounts.