A U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts returned to Earth on April 10 after 173 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The Soyuz MS-02 capsule carrying U.S. Commander Shane Kimbrough and Russians Andrei Borisenko and Sergei Ryzhikov landed safely in central Kazakhstan, Russia's Flight Control Center said.
"Touchdown confirmed," a commentator on NASA Television said during a broadcast of the landing.
The landing took place in bright conditions at around 1120 GMT (1720 local time) close to the Kazakh steppe town of Zhezqazghan.
Astronaut Peggy Whitson assumed command of the $100 billion ISS from Kimbrough on April 10.
She will remain in command of two crew members, cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency.
The departing crew members will be replaced by astronaut Jack Fischer and cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, who are scheduled to launch April 20 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
