Moscow, 20 April 2025 (dpa/MIA) - After seven months on the International Space Station (ISS), a US citizen and two Russians have returned safely to Earth.

The Soyuz capsule carrying astronaut Don Pettit and cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner landed at 0130 GMT on Sunday near Zhezkazgan on the steppes of the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos and the US space agency NASA.

Pettit celebrates his 70th birthday on Sunday, according to Nasa.

The crew had been in space since September 11.

Despite the serious international political tensions in the wake of the Russian war against Ukraine, Russia and the US continue to work together when it comes to space exploration.

Astronauts repeatedly use Russian spacecraft to reach the ISS.

Photo: MIA archive