What To Know
- It marked the first time in 50 years that a NASA crew has splashed down in the Pacific—part of a new strategy to reduce risks from falling debris over populated areas.
- Launched in March from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on a Falcon 9 rocket, Crew-10 took over for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose Boeing Starliner test flight ran into serious technical snags.
- The astronauts received quick medical checks before boarding a helicopter to a NASA jet bound for Houston’s Johnson Space Center—home base for U.
Imagine it: a gleaming SpaceX Dragon capsule drifting down under four white parachutes, splashing into the sparkling Pacific just off the coast of sunny San Diego. That was the scene Saturday morning, Aug. 9, as NASA’s Crew-10 mission wrapped up a nearly five-month stint aboard the International Space Station (ISS) with a flawless landing.
The crew—NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi from Japan’s space agency, and Kirill Peskov from Russia—touched down at 11:33 a.m. ET (8:33 a.m. PT). Within minutes, SpaceX and NASA recovery teams were alongside the capsule, securing it and helping the astronauts step back into fresh air and gravity.
This mission was more than just a textbook return. It marked the first time in 50 years that a NASA crew has splashed down in the Pacific—part of a new strategy to reduce risks from falling debris over populated areas. It’s also only the third human Pacific landing for SpaceX, underscoring how Elon Musk’s Hawthorne, Calif.-based company continues to reshape space travel through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
An International Crew, A Shared Mission
Leading the mission was McClain, a seasoned Army pilot and NASA veteran from Spokane, Wash., making her second trip to the ISS after her 2018–19 mission. Ayers, from Colorado Springs, Colo., served as pilot on her first spaceflight. Onishi brought prior ISS experience, while Peskov marked his debut in space.
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Their time aboard the ISS wasn’t just about living in microgravity—it was about teamwork across borders. At a time when global tensions are high, this collaboration echoed historic missions like the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz project, the first joint U.S.-Soviet flight, which also ended in a Pacific splashdown.
148 Days, Thousands of Orbits, Countless Experiments
Launched in March from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on a Falcon 9 rocket, Crew-10 took over for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose Boeing Starliner test flight ran into serious technical snags. Instead of a quick week-long mission, Wilmore and Williams ended up spending more than nine months in orbit—forcing NASA to bring Starliner home empty.
During their 148 days circling Earth, the Crew-10 astronauts conducted hundreds of experiments—studying how weightlessness affects human health, testing technology for future Mars missions, and exploring materials science that could lead to breakthroughs on Earth.
Before departure, McClain shared a message that resonated far beyond spaceflight:
“We want this mission, our mission, to be a reminder of what people can do when we work together, when we explore together—especially during these tumultuous times on Earth.”
Homecoming and What’s Next
After splashdown, the Dragon capsule was hoisted aboard a recovery ship. The astronauts received quick medical checks before boarding a helicopter to a NASA jet bound for Houston’s Johnson Space Center—home base for U.S. human spaceflight.
McClain joked she was looking forward to “doing nothing for a couple of days,” while her crewmates dreamed of hot showers and juicy burgers—small pleasures that feel monumental after months in space.
SpaceX Mission Control summed it up in two words: “Welcome home.”
Crew-10’s safe return is more than the end of a mission—it’s a stepping stone. As NASA gears up for Artemis moon landings and looks ahead to Mars, partnerships like this prove America’s space program is firing on all cylinders.
For anyone lucky enough to spot the capsule’s parachutes from the California coast—or for families inspired by the images—it’s a reminder: the final frontier isn’t as far away as it seems, and the United States is leading the way there.
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