NASA SpaceX Crew-12 returns to Earth after 8 months in space

NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 Dragon capsule safely landed off the coast of Los Angeles, California, on October 8, 2026, at 11:34 a.m. EDT. The spacecraft was carrying astronaut Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway from NASA, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. A recovery team, comprising two fast boats, secured the Dragon spacecraft and ensured its safety for the recovery process.

Following the completion of the fast boat teams' work, the recovery ship positioned itself to hoist the Dragon onto its main deck, allowing for the astronauts' exit from the spacecraft. This marked the conclusion of the crew's 237-day stay aboard the International Space Station. Jessica Meir, with 440 total days in space, secured her position among NASA's Top 10 for cumulative days in space.

Hathaway and Adenot were experiencing their first spaceflight, while Fedyaev had already spent time in space on previous missions. The crew conducted four spacewalks throughout their nearly eight-month mission. NASA will hold a post-splashdown media teleconference at 1:15 p.m. EDT to discuss the return and the forthcoming launch of the agency's next cargo resupply mission to the microgravity laboratory, which will be carried out by SpaceX with Bill Spetch, deputy manager of Commercial, NASA's Low Earth Orbit Program, Dr. Liz Warren, deputy chief scientist, NASA's Low Earth Orbit Program, Lee Echerd, senior mission manager, Customer Operations and Integration, SpaceX, and Andreas Mogensen, leader of the Human Exploration Group at ESA.

NASA's live coverage of the event can be accessed through various online platforms at www.nasa.gov/live.