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US-Russian Space Crew Returns to Earth After 8 Months on ISS

A US-Russian space crew returned safely to Kazakhstan after eight months on the International Space Station, demonstrating continued cooperation despite geopolitical tensions.

Eleni Papadaki-Van Der Merwe Staff Writer

JULY 26, 2026 AT 7:22 PM

According to New York Post, NASA astronaut Chris Williams and his Russian colleagues Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev completed their descent in the Soyuz MS-28 capsule, which landed smoothly by parachute in a designated zone southeast of Dzhezkazgan.

The crew spent 241 days on the orbiting outpost, marking the first space mission for both Williams and Mikaev, while Kud-Sverchkov was completing his second journey to the station.

The successful landing demonstrates the enduring partnership between American and Russian space agencies, which has remained intact even as bilateral relations have deteriorated in recent years. The International Space Station continues to serve as one of the few areas where Moscow and Washington maintain direct operational collaboration.

Recovery teams were on site to assist the crew following their landing in the vast Kazakh steppes, a traditional touchdown location for Soyuz capsules returning from the ISS.

With information from New York Post

Eleni Papadaki-Van Der Merwe

She was born in 1986 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the granddaughter of an immigrant from Crete who settled in the Greek community of Johannesburg (one of the largest in Africa). She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg and a master’s degree in Journalism from Rhodes University in Grahamstown. She began her career at English-language media outlets in Johannesburg, covering politics and economics, with a focus on issues related to migration and the diaspora. She moved to Athens in 2015 to “return to her roots,” initially to pursue graduate studies, and has remained there permanently. She is married to an Afrikaner; they have two children and live in the southern suburbs of Athens.