Three ISS astronauts land in Kazakhstan

A Soyuz capsule carrying three International Space Station crew members has safely landed on time in Kazakhstan on Sunday, according to NASA.

Russian Fyodor Yurchijin and Americans Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson, members of 52nd expedition to the ISS, landed at 7.21 a.m., near a remote area in Dzhezkazgan, reports Efe news.

Minutes after the spacecraft landed, the three astronauts underwent routine medical check-ups.

The record-breaking Whitson on Saturday completed a total of 665 days in space during her career, more than any other American astronaut.

Fischer and Yurchikhin both spent 136 days aboard the ISS.

Russian cosmonaut Sergey Riazanski (Roscosmos), American Randolph Bresnik (NASA) and Italian Paolo Nespoli (European Space Agency), remain on the ISS, to be joined by three others on September 12.

The ISS, a 16-nation project representing an investment of more than $150 billion, currently comprises 14 permanent modules and orbits the Earth at a speed of more than 27,000 kph.

--IANS

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