NASA Crew-12 Returns After 237 Days Aboard Space Station
The four-person crew splashed down off Los Angeles on October 8 after more than seven months aboard the International Space Station.
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The Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft completed a successful mission, returning to Earth on October 8, 2026. NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, along with ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off Los Angeles.
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NASA said SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off Los Angeles on October 8, 2026, returning NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev from the International Space Station. The agency says the four spent 237 days in orbit, traveled more than 100 million miles and completed more than 3,792 orbits. They launched on February 13 and docked with the station the next day. NASA says their work included research on stem-cell production, on-demand IV fluid generation, nutrition and blood flow during spaceflight. Meir completed four spacewalks during the mission, bringing her career total to seven; Adenot completed three. The October 8 release announced a crew science briefing for October 15, but did not itself report new scientific results from that briefing. The splashdown photograph accompanying this article is credited by NASA to Keegan Barber.