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German astronaut Maurer to return to Earth

May 5, 2022

Matthias Maurer is due back on Earth after spending some six months orbiting the planet on the International Space Station. He will return with three other ISS crew members and some 550 pounds of cargo.

https://p.dw.com/p/4AqJV
Matthias Maurer, Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron aboard the International Space Station
Astronauts Matthias Maurer, Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron were on board the ISS for six monthsImage: Nasa/dpa/picture alliance

German Matthias Maurer and three other astronauts left the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, ending a six-month mission aboard the artificial satellite.

The crew undocked from the ISS at 0520 GMT in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule and is due to splash down some 23 hours later off the coast of Florida.

250 miles above Earth

If everything goes according to plan, Maurer, 52, is expected back in Germany late Friday evening.

The four astronauts — Americans Tom Marshburn, 61, Raja Chari, 44, and Kayla Barron, 34, along with Germany's Maurer —  were seen in live NASA footage strapped into the cabin shortly before the spacecraft undocked the ISS, which orbits some 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth.

During the crew's stay, Russia invaded Ukraine. But Western astronauts and Russian cosmonauts still live together on the station.

Back from space: German astronaut Maurer returns to Earth

Command handover

The crew's departure on Thursday came a week after they welcomed their replacement team aboard the ISS, also currently home to three Russian cosmonauts on a long-term assignment. One of those cosmonauts, Oleg Artemyev, assumed command of the station from Marshburn in a handover before Thursday's departure, NASA said.

SpaceX — Elon Musk's company — has now launched five crews for NASA and two private trips in just under two years.

jsi/sms (Reuters, dpa)