NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission returns to earth

Aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, Jessica Watkins, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti prepared to depart the space station following a hatch closure of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom on Friday, Oct. 14. Hines, Lindgren, Watkins, and Cristoforetti undocked from the space station shortly after, and returned to Earth for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida, completing their six-month mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program