SpaceX astronauts have returned to Earth after a 200-day flight

WUSF | By Associated Press

Published November 9, 2021 at 6:59 AM EST

In this photo provided by NASA, from left to right, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide gesture inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola on Nov. 8, 2021. The astronauts returned to Earth on Monday to end a 200-day space station mission that began last spring.

Four astronauts are back on Earth after a 200-day space station mission.

They rode home Monday in a SpaceX capsule, parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola in darkness.

The astronauts from the U.S., France and Japan departed the International Space Station eight hours earlier. The toilet in their capsule was broken, so they had to rely on diapers.

Before leaving the neighborhood, the four took a spin around the space station, taking pictures.

SpaceX is now turning its attention to the launch of their four replacements, as early as Wednesday night.

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