Four astronauts return to Earth from ISS after medical relief mission

The SpaceX Crew-12 members, from left, Andrey Fedyaev, Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir and Sophie Adenot, who returned to Earth on Thursday. Photograph: Anil Menon/NASA/APView image in fullscreenThe SpaceX Crew-12 members, from left, Andrey Fedyaev, Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir and Sophie Adenot, who returned to Earth on Thursday. Photograph: Anil Menon/NASA/APFour astronauts return to Earth from ISS after medical relief missionCrew hurried to International Space Station eight months ago after astronaut fell ill in space

Four astronauts returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Thursday after hurrying there eight months ago to replace an ailing colleague and his crew.

SpaceX brought the US, French and Russian crew back with a splashdown in the Pacific off the coast of Los Angeles.

Nasa’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrey Fedyaev departed the orbiting lab on Wednesday, eager to reunite with their families after a lengthy separation. Their replacements arrived three weeks late because of capsule repairs, stalling this crew’s homecoming.

Read moreThey couldn’t wait to feel the breeze on their faces, hit the shower and, for Adenot at least, plunge back into water sports.

“We are so excited to be back on Planet Earth after an incredible mission on the International Space Station,” Meir radioed moments after splashing down. While still in orbit, she said the crew had “a lot of mixed, swirling emotions” and would miss the “extraordinary views of our home planet”.

Meir and her crew left the planet in February to replace four station occupants who were sent home early after one of them – Nasa’s Mike Fincke, now retired – fell ill. It was Nasa’s first medical evacuation in 65 years of human spaceflight.

View image in fullscreenThe SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft splashes down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles, California, on Thursday. Photograph: Keegan Barber/Nasa/EPAMeir took part in four spacewalks, while Adenot ventured outside three times for maintenance and upgrades to the 28-year-old outpost.

Seven astronauts remain aboard the space station, representing the US, Russia and Canada. The outpost has welcomed 298 visitors from 26 countries since 2000, by Nasa’s count.