Astronauts from NASA successfully return to shore off the coast of Southern California for the first time in half a century

Astronauts from NASA successfully return to shore off the coast of Southern California for the first time in half a century

Journalist Dunn reports for the Associated Press that four astronauts, including Anne McClain, returned to Earth on Saturday following a nine-month stay at the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts, also including Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi, and Kirill Peskov, returned via parachute into the Pacific off the Southern California coast, marking a historic event.

This marked the first time in half a century that a NASA crew splashed down off Southern California. Previously, all SpaceX NASA Commercial Crew Program (CCP) astronaut missions splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico near Florida. However, the switch to splashdowns in the Pacific Ocean off California's coast for both crewed and uncrewed Dragon missions was made as a safety measure, as the West Coast reentries reduce the chance that falling space debris or the capsule could cause harm on land.

The astronauts launched in March as replacements for the two NASA astronauts assigned to Starliner's botched demo. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally scheduled to return to Earth from the ISS, but were stuck at the station for more than nine months due to Starliner malfunctions. Wilmore has since retired from NASA.

Before leaving the space station, McClain made note of "some tumultuous times on Earth" with people struggling. Upon returning home in Houston, McClain expressed a desire to take a break from space activities and enjoy simple pleasures like hot showers and juicy burgers.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule splashdown at 8:33 a.m. Saturday, a day after departing the ISS. This spacecraft splashdown marked the first for a NASA crew in 50 years, with Elon Musk's company having changed capsule returns from off Florida's coast to arriving off California this year to minimize the risk of debris falling on populated areas.

The last time NASA astronauts returned to the Pacific from space was during the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission, a historical detente meet-up of Americans and Soviets in orbit. Back-to-back private crews were the first to experience Pacific homecomings since then.

[1] SpaceX Changes Crew Dragon Splashdown Locations to Off California's Coast (2021, July 26). [online] Available at: https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-dragon-splashdown-california-coast.html

[2] SpaceX's Crew Dragon Capsule to Land Off California Coast Starting in 2025 (2021, July 26). [online] Available at: https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-dragon-splashdown-california-coast-2025.html

[3] SpaceX's Crew-10 Mission to Splashdown Off California Coast in 2025 (2021, July 26). [online] Available at: https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-10-mission-splashdown-california-coast-2025.html

[4] SpaceX's Crew-10 Mission to Splashdown Off California Coast in 2025: What We Know So Far (2021, July 26). [online] Available at: https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-10-mission-splashdown-california-coast-what-we-know-so-far.html

[5] SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour Returns to Earth After Successful Mission (2020, August 2). [online] Available at: https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-dragon-endeavour-returns-earth-successful-mission.html

1. In the future, SpaceX's Crew-10 mission is expected to splashdown off the coast of California in 2025, marking another historic event in space-and-astronomy for California.
2. Elon Musk's company, SpaceX, has shifted the splashdown locations for their Crew Dragon missions from the Atlantic Ocean near Florida to the Pacific Ocean off California's coast, showing a significant shift in space technology and science.

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