NASA ASTRONAUT CHRIS WILLIAMS RETURNS FROM EIGHT-MONTH SPACE STATION MISSION

NASA astronaut Chris Williams returned to Earth on 26 July following an eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Williams landed in Kazakhstan alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev at 5:27 a.m. CDT (3:27 p.m. Kazakhstan time) in the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft. The crew completed a parachute-assisted descent southeast of Dzhezkazgan after departing the station at 2:03 a.m. This marked Williams' first space mission, whilst Mikaev was also on his first spaceflight and Kud-Sverchkov undertook his second journey into space.

The crew spent 241 days in space after launching on 27 November 2025, completing 3,856 orbits of Earth and travelling more than 102 million miles. During his time aboard the orbiting laboratory, Williams supported scientific investigations including cancer research and experiments focused on improving the production of materials used in high-performance computers and electronics in space. He also completed two spacewalks: one to prepare the station for upgrades to its power systems and another to replace a faulty joint on the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Following medical evaluations after landing, the crew members travelled by helicopter to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where recovery teams are based.

Williams boarded a NASA aircraft for travel to the agency's Johnson Space Centre in Houston. The work undertaken by the crew during the mission could support the development of new cancer treatments and inform NASA's preparation for future human exploration of the Moon and Mars. The International Space Station has maintained continuous human presence for more than 25 years.