Expedition 25 Lands Successfully in Kazakhstan

Expedition 25 landed securely in Kazakhstan at 11:46 p.m. EST Thursday (Friday 10:46 a.m. Kazakhstan time). The trio Doug Wheelock, Shannon Walker and Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin undocked in the Soyuz TMA-19 at 8:23 p.m. ending their 5-1/2 month stays at the International Space Station.

Wheelock has exhausted 178 days in space on his two missions (15 days on STS-120). Walker spent 163 days in space on this, her first mission. Each utilized 161 days aboard the station as members of Expedition 24/25.

Yurchikhin has 371 total days in space (163 during Expedition 24/25). He was also a flight engineer during Expedition 15 (197 days) and a mission specialist for STS-112 (11 days).

Staying behind on the orbiting laboratory are Expedition 26 Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineers Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka. Their rise officially began when the Soyuz TMA-19 undocked.

The departing Expedition 25 crew spent its final days packing gear for the return home as well as reviewing and training for its landing procedures. They also participated in the usual station science and protection activities.