SpaceX’s Crew-3 Dragon Endurance space capsule advances through the atmosphere to return four astronauts to Earth on May 6, 2022 off the coast of Florida. (Image credit: SpaceX)
This is not a meteor. It’s a spacecraft.
SpaceX’s Crew-3 astronauts’ mission to Earth early Friday (May 6) was captured in epic photos as the crew wrapped up half a year on the International Space Station .
Both NASA and SpaceX which supplied Crew-3’s Dragon For the agency, the spacecraft snapped zigzagging into the atmosphere in the previous minutes Successful start At 12:43 a.m. EDT (0443 GMT), 176 days after they launched their mission.
The epic images show a meteor-like vehicle rapidly moving through the atmosphere with four people on board: Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron, all NASA and Matthias Maurer with European Space Agency (European Space Agency).
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NASA photographer Aubrey Gemignani captured the return of the Dragon capsule in several photos.
NASA captured the Crew-3 spacecraft with its streaks high in the atmosphere, before it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico on May 6, 2022. (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Above is one view of the capsule plunging into the atmosphere in the early hours of Friday.
Below is a broader view of SpaceX’s Crew-3 Dragon with the lights of the recovery ships visible below the image, including what appears to be a spotlight twinkling at night at the bottom right.
A wide view of the crewed 3’s spacecraft on the horizon, before collapsing on May 6, 2022. (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
The Endurance’s return spacecraft was visible in Mexico, Florida, and nearby areas, generating some social media posts from people who got up early (or stayed up late) to watch the show.
In the minutes after the plane went down, the four astronauts gave “hello” to Earth after recovery officials arrived on the spacecraft.
From left to right, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer, NASA astronauts Tom Marshbourne, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron, welcome recovery officials shortly after Crew 3 launch on May 6, 2022. (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
While it typically takes about a day on our planet to fully recover from each day in space, astronauts should be able to resume many of their normal activities (such as showering, driving, and exercising) within a few weeks.
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