NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 Dragon Night Landing in Gulf of Mexico

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 Dragon Night Landing in Gulf of Mexico

Support teams work around the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft shortly after it landed with NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Kayla Barron, Tom Marshburn, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer aboard, in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Tampa, Florida, Friday, May 6, 2022. Maurer, Marshburn, Chari, and Barron returned after 177 days in space as part of Expeditions 66 and 67 aboard the International Space Station (ISS). 

Teams on the Shannon recovery ship, including two fast boats, secured Dragon and ensured the spacecraft was safe for the recovery effort. As the fast boat teams completed their work, the recovery ship hoisted Dragon Endurance onto the main deck of Shannon with the astronauts inside. Once on the main deck, the crew was taken out of the spacecraft. They received medical checks before the NASA astronauts took a helicopter ride to board a plane for Houston. 

Now that his mission has ended, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer will return to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, where he will participate in post-flight debriefings, provide samples for scientific evaluation and readapt to Earth’s gravity with the support of ESA experts. 

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Image Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Image Date: May 6, 2022

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