NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and two Russian cosmonauts have landed safely in the snowy expanses of central Kazakhstan after a five-month stint on the International Space Station.
The Soyuz descent module carrying Mr. Kelly and flight engineers Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka landed on schedule at 13-53 p.m. local time (0753 GMT) Wednesday some 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the northern Kazakh city of Arkalyk.
Mr. Kelly returns to earth as his twin brother Mark, husband of wounded congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, prepares to take part in the Endeavour shuttle’s final mission in April.
The Soyuz crew departing the space station left behind Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev, Italy’s Paolo Nespoli and NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman, who are due to return to earth in about three months.
