Japanese Astronaut Yui Returns to Earth After Five Months on ISS

Jan 16 (News On Japan) - Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui returned safely to Earth on January 15th, smiling and waving after completing more than five months aboard the International Space Station.

Yui, 55, splashed down off the coast of California in the western United States at 5:41 p.m. Japan time on January 15th, traveling home aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft after concluding his extended stay on the ISS. Recovery crews hoisted the capsule onto a ship and opened the hatch, where Yui emerged smiling and waving to cameras before being placed on a chair and taken inside the vessel.

Yui had originally been scheduled to remain aboard the station until February, but his return was brought forward after a fellow astronaut experienced health-related issues, prompting an earlier-than-planned end to the mission.

Source: Kyodo

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