NEW YORK, October 25. /TASS/. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Crew-8 mission, including Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, has returned to Earth, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said.

The spacecraft splashed down off the coast of Florida at 3:29 a.m. EDT. The crew, which has been on a space mission at the International Space Station (ISS) since March 2024, also included NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps.

The spacecraft undocked from the ISS on October 23 at 5:02 p.m. EDT. The undocking of Crew Dragon was postponed several times due to unfavorable weather conditions.

In July 2022, Roscosmos and NASA signed a seat-swap agreement allowing Russian cosmonauts to fly to the ISS on US spacecraft and US astronauts to travel on Russian spaceships. The agreement stipulates that there is always at least one Russian cosmonaut and one NASA astronaut on the ISS. News came in December 2023 that Roscosmos and NASA planned to continue cross-flights until 2025.