The Expedition 39, after spending six months in the International Space Station (ISS) returned to Earth on Tuesday, 13 May. The Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft carrying Expedition 39 crew members landed in Kazakhstan southeast of Dzhezkazgan at 9:58 pm. (Wednesday 7:58 am, Kazakh time or Tuesday 8:58 pm EST).
Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA and Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency landed safely after completing a journey of more than 79 million miles and over more than 3,000 orbits of the Earth after its launch to the ISS in November 2013.
Expedition 39 crew members take a break from training at NASA's Johnson Space Center to pose for a crew portrait. Pictured on the front row are Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata (right), commander; and NASA astronaut Steve Swanson, flight engineer. Pictured from the left (back row) are Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Alexander Skvortsov, Mikhail Tyurin and NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, all flight engineersNASA
In the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 38/39 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (left), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin (center) and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA (right) pose for pictures outside their Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft Oct. 28 following a fit check dress rehearsal. The trio is scheduled to launch Nov. 7, Kazakh time, in the Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur to begin a six-month mission on the International Space Station.NASA/Victor Zelentsov
The Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, KazakhstanNASA/Bill Ingalls
The Expedition 39 crew adjusts to the full force of Earth's gravity shortly after landing in Kazakhstan aboard their Soyuz spacecraft.NASA TV
The Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft backs away from the International Space Station shortly after undocking.NASA TV
Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin and Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata close the hatch to Soyuz as they and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio prepare for the return to Earth after more than six months aboard the International Space Station.NASA TV
Expedition 39 Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA is helped out of the Soyuz capsule just minutes after he and Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) landed in their Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraftNASA/Bill Ingalls
On Sunday, April 20, 2014, the Expedition 39 crew aboard the International Space Station welcomed nearly two-and-a-half tons of supplies and scientific payloads to the station with the arrival of the third SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo spacecraft. This image of SpaceX Dragon grappled by Canadarm2 was sent down by Flight Engineer Steve Swanson to Instagram with the message, "We have a Dragon. All is good."NASA
