NASA's Coverage for Returning Astronauts: A Historic Return to Earth
On Monday, December 8th, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and his crewmates, Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, are set to make their way back to Earth after a historic 245-day mission aboard the International Space Station. As they undock from the station's Prichal module at 8:41 p.m. EST, NASA will be providing live coverage of the return.
According to NASA's schedule, the crew will begin their descent with a parachute-assisted landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan at 12:04 a.m. local time on Tuesday, December 9th (10:04 a.m. EST). The landing is part of the mission's deorbit burn and subsequent recovery process.
Following their return to Earth, Kim and his crewmates will be greeted by recovery teams based in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Ryzhikov and Zubritsky will fly by helicopter to their training base in Star City, Russia, while Kim will board a NASA aircraft to head back to Houston.
This mission marks the conclusion of Expedition 74, with NASA astronaut Mike Fincke taking command of the station. The crew has spent nearly 104 million miles orbiting Earth and have orbited our planet 3,920 times during their mission.
NASA's live coverage of the return will be available on various platforms, including NASA+, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and social media. For those interested in learning more about International Space Station research and operations, visit the agency's website at [www.nasa.gov/station](http://www.nasa.gov/station).
As NASA continues to focus on deep space missions to the Moon as part of its Artemis campaign, the success of this mission is a testament to the hard work and dedication of its astronauts. The International Space Station serves as a critical testbed for long-duration spaceflight and advancing scientific knowledge.
Coverage Schedule:
* Sunday, December 7th: Expedition 73/74 change of command ceremony at 10:30 a.m. EST on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
* Monday, December 8th:
+ Farewells and hatch closing coverage begins at 4:45 p.m. EST
+ Hatch closing at 5:10 p.m. EST
+ Undocking coverage begins at 8:15 p.m. EST
+ Undocking at 8:41 p.m. EST
* Tuesday, December 9th:
+ Deorbit and landing coverage begins at 10:30 p.m. EST
+ Landing at 12:04 a.m. local time
On Monday, December 8th, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and his crewmates, Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, are set to make their way back to Earth after a historic 245-day mission aboard the International Space Station. As they undock from the station's Prichal module at 8:41 p.m. EST, NASA will be providing live coverage of the return.
According to NASA's schedule, the crew will begin their descent with a parachute-assisted landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan at 12:04 a.m. local time on Tuesday, December 9th (10:04 a.m. EST). The landing is part of the mission's deorbit burn and subsequent recovery process.
Following their return to Earth, Kim and his crewmates will be greeted by recovery teams based in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Ryzhikov and Zubritsky will fly by helicopter to their training base in Star City, Russia, while Kim will board a NASA aircraft to head back to Houston.
This mission marks the conclusion of Expedition 74, with NASA astronaut Mike Fincke taking command of the station. The crew has spent nearly 104 million miles orbiting Earth and have orbited our planet 3,920 times during their mission.
NASA's live coverage of the return will be available on various platforms, including NASA+, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and social media. For those interested in learning more about International Space Station research and operations, visit the agency's website at [www.nasa.gov/station](http://www.nasa.gov/station).
As NASA continues to focus on deep space missions to the Moon as part of its Artemis campaign, the success of this mission is a testament to the hard work and dedication of its astronauts. The International Space Station serves as a critical testbed for long-duration spaceflight and advancing scientific knowledge.
Coverage Schedule:
* Sunday, December 7th: Expedition 73/74 change of command ceremony at 10:30 a.m. EST on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
* Monday, December 8th:
+ Farewells and hatch closing coverage begins at 4:45 p.m. EST
+ Hatch closing at 5:10 p.m. EST
+ Undocking coverage begins at 8:15 p.m. EST
+ Undocking at 8:41 p.m. EST
* Tuesday, December 9th:
+ Deorbit and landing coverage begins at 10:30 p.m. EST
+ Landing at 12:04 a.m. local time
just thinkin bout these astronauts comin back to Earth after bein up in space 4 like 245 days 
that's like, totally mind blowin man... I mean can u even imagine bein in space for dat long? 
and they've been orbitin our planet like 3,920 times bro! 
thats insane. NASA's coverage is gonna be so sick 
i'm def tunein in to see Jonny Kim and his crewmates return safely back to Earth 
, its like a major milestone for space exploration, i mean we're already talking about the artemis mission and stuff... anyways i think nasa should've streamed the whole return on youtube lol woulda been so lit to see it live but i guess that's not how they do it 
its like, these astronauts have been out of this world for almost 6 months now! 
cant wait to see the crew return safely back to earth