NASA Crew-10 Astronauts Depart ISS After Five-Month Mission

NASA's Crew-10 astronauts, consisting of Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi, and Kirill Peskov, have departed the International Space Station after a five-month mission and are returning to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, with an expected splashdown off the California coast. Their mission, launched in March 2025, replaced the Crew-9 team and included conducting over 200 experiments in biology, materials science, and human physiology, with key studies on plant growth and cellular responses in microgravity to support future long-duration spaceflights. The return marks the conclusion of NASA's 10th commercial crew rotation mission under the Commercial Crew Program, which partners with private companies like SpaceX to continue human spaceflight operations following the Space Shuttle era. The Crew-10 departure also followed the extended stay of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who were stranded onboard due to Boeing Starliner's propulsion failure; Wilmore has since retired after 25 years at NASA. The Dragon capsule's descent includes a controlled re-entry and parachute-assisted splashdown, with recovery by a SpaceX ship. The transition to the newly arrived Crew-11 astronauts aboard the ISS ensures continuity of ongoing research and station operations.