The International Space Station bid farewell Monday to its first visitors from India, Poland, and Hungary, as the trio began their journey back to Earth aboard a SpaceX capsule following a short private mission.
The spacecraft detached from the ISS and was scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean near Southern California the next morning.
This privately funded flight marked a historic return to orbit for all three nations, each sending an astronaut into space for the first time in over four decades. Accompanying them was veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, now with Axiom Space, the company that organized the mission. The crew launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on June 25.
During their time on board, India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu conducted a range of scientific experiments and engaged with leaders and students back home through live calls.
“We’ll return home and let people know that space is within reach—even for smaller nations like ours,” Kapu said during an emotional farewell ceremony that concluded with a group hug.
