Astronauts from three countries parachuted down to Earth in a SpaceX capsule off the Florida coast, marking the end of a private three-week mission to the International Space Station.
The trio, representing Turkey, Italy, and Sweden, were escorted by former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who is now affiliated with Axiom Space, the Houston-based company that arranged the chartered flight.
Alper Gezeravci, an ex-fighter pilot and captain for Turkish Airlines, launched from Cape Canaveral last month, making history as the first Turkish citizen in space.
Representing Italy was Air Force Col. Walter Villadei, and for Sweden, Marcus Wandt, a former fighter pilot.
Upon landing, Gezeravci expressed gratitude to his country for its “bold and determined decision” to send a citizen into space as part of Turkey’s 100th anniversary as a republic.
While waiting for weather conditions to improve in the splashdown zone, the astronauts enjoyed extra time at the space station engaged in science experiments and greeted schoolchildren and national officials.
The three countries financed the endeavor at approximately $55 million per astronaut. This was Axiom’s third private mission to the space station, with a fourth planned later in 2024.
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On Wednesday, a private space systems company sent its lunar lander into orbit. If it successfully lands on the moon at its predicted time of about 5:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, it would make history doing so.
The United States, Russia, Japan, India, and China are the only countries to have successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon.
