NASA Astronauts Meir, Morgan Return Back To Corornavirus-Clad Earth

NASA astronauts -- Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka have returned from the International Space Station (ISS) back to Earth. The trio departed from ISS on Thursday and made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 1:16 a.m. Friday in Kazakhstan, NASA confirmed.

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NASA Astronauts Return To Earth

The return trip back to Earth occurred just a week after another crew headed to the space station to take their place. With the coronavirus pandemic on Earth, the returning crew was greeted with a smaller-than-usual committee.

"After post-landing medical checks, the crew will return by Russian helicopters to the recovery staging city in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, where they will split up. Morgan and Meir will board a NASA plane located in the adjacent city of Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan, for a flight back to Houston," NASA said in a blog post.

It was also reported that the crew will continue to be evaluated by medical personnel for weeks and months afterward, though NASA is going to be extra careful about follow-up exams. Due to the pandemic, astronauts will undergo cleaning of surfaces, social distancing, and emphasizing hand hygiene. NASA will continue to encourage team members who are sick to stay at home and limit their contact with crew members.

NASA Astronauts Achievements

Going into the details, NASA astronaut Morgan had been on ISS for up to 272 days, while Meir and Skripochka had been on board for 205. Meir recently made history last year when she performed the first all-female spacewalk along with her fellow astronaut Christina Koch. The pair went on to do two more all-female spacewalks together while they were both on the station.

On the other hand, Morgan's extended stay in space will increase knowledge about how the human body responds to longer-duration spaceflight, which also includes the Fluid Shifts study.

The trio was part of the Expedition 62, whose contribution include the Droplet Formation Study. The study evaluates water droplet formation water flow and, indirectly, the perceived pressure of current showerhead technology as compared to the industry-standard use of jet nozzles.