Russian and US astronauts back to earth after 6 months space travelling

Cosmonaut Elena Serova of the Russian Federal Space Agency rests in a chair outside the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft. Image by (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians and an American has landed in Kazakhstan, ending the astronauts’ nearly six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The capsule carried Russians Alexander Samokutayev and Elena Serova and Nasa’s Barry Wilmore. They blasted off for the space station on September 26.

The capsule landed upright in heavy fog southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan on the Kazakh steppes. Despite the poor visibility, recovery workers arrived within several minutes and all three astronauts were extracted within half an hour.

Cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) rests in a chair outside the Soyuz TMA-14M. Image by (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

They were taken to recliner-style chairs set up near the capsule to begin their readjustment to gravity and undergo brief medical tests.

All three appeared in good condition and Ms Serova smiled broadly as she sat in the chair bundled up against temperatures a few degrees below freezing.

Three other astronauts remain aboard the space station.

They will be joined by three others on March 27. Two of those – Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko – are to spend a full year on the ISS.

(Press Association)