After nearly five months aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission has successfully concluded with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. The return marks a milestone in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, reinforcing the growing role of private industry in advancing human space exploration.

The crew—NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov—landed at 11:33 a.m. EDT on August 9, following a 146-day mission that spanned over 62 million miles and 2,368 orbits around Earth.

Launched on March 14 from Kennedy Space Center, Crew-10 docked with the ISS two days later, initiating a mission rich in scientific inquiry and operational achievement. The astronauts conducted hundreds of experiments, including studies on plant and microalgae growth, DNA damage from space radiation, and the effects of microgravity on human physiology. Their work contributes to the foundational knowledge required for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

McClain and Ayers also completed a spacewalk in May, relocating a communications antenna and preparing infrastructure for future solar arrays. For Ayers and Peskov, this mission marked their first journey into space; McClain and Onishi added to their already impressive flight records.

NASA’s acting Administrator Sean Duffy hailed the mission as a “building block for long-duration exploration,” emphasizing the agency’s vision for a thriving space industry that supports both private space stations and interplanetary travel.

As Crew-10 returns to Earth, their successors—Crew-11—have already begun their own chapter aboard the ISS, continuing the legacy of international collaboration and scientific discovery that defines this new era of spaceflight.