SAN DIEGO (CNS) — Four space travelers safely splashed down off the coast of San Diego Saturday after completing a mission aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi of Japan and Kirill Peskov of Russia splashed down in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at 8:33 a.m. Saturday, according to NASA.
NASA said they were the "first Commercial Crew mission to splash down off the California coast."
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX president and chief operating officer, welcomed the quartet "back to the beautiful blue planet!"
"Hope your ride was comfortable," she wrote on X.
Anne, Nichole, Takuya, and Kirill – welcome back to the beautiful blue planet! Hope your ride was comfortable! pic.twitter.com/cPr7mE5yxq
— Gwynne Shotwell (@Gwynne_Shotwell) August 9, 2025
SpaceX personnel were working to help the four out of the capsule, allowing them to take their first breath of fresh air in five months. McClain was the first was to leave the craft, according to a video feed.
The four traveled to the ISS in March to relieve two test pilots of Boeing's Starliner aircraft who had been stuck there for several months after a malfunction
