The Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft departs from the International Space Station and heads toward a landing in a remote area outside the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan on Nov. 19, 2012 (Kazakhstan time). NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 33 commander; Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, Soyuz commander and flight engineer; and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide, flight engineer, are returning from four months onboard the space station where they served as members of the Expedition 32 and 33 crews.
Soyuz TMA-05M (descent module) beginning to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere on Nov. 19 (real time, Nov. 18, U.S. time) leaving a plasma trail as the Expedition 33 crew streaked toward a pre-dawn landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan northeast of Arkalyk.
Soyuz TMA-05M (descent module) beginning to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere on Nov. 19 (real time, Nov. 18, U.S. time) leaving a plasma trail as the Expedition 33 crew streaked toward a pre-dawn landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan northeast of Arkalyk.
Soyuz TMA-05M (descent module) beginning to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere on Nov. 19 (real time, Nov. 18, U.S. time) leaving a plasma trail as the Expedition 33 crew streaked toward a pre-dawn landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan northeast of Arkalyk.
Soyuz TMA-05M (descent module) beginning to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere on Nov. 19 (real time, Nov. 18, U.S. time) leaving a plasma trail as the Expedition 33 crew streaked toward a pre-dawn landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan northeast of Arkalyk.
The Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft is seen shortly after it landed with Expedition 33 crew on the frozen steppes of Kazakhstan on Nov. 18 Eastern Standard Time in 2012. It was early Nov. 19 local time at the landing site.
Expedition 33 Commander Sunita Williams of NASA, right, and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko of ROSCOSMOS (Russian Federal Space Agency), and Akihiko Hoshide of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), left, sit in chairs outside the Soyuz Capsule just minutes after they landed in a remote area outside the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, Nov. 19 (local time) in 2012.
Russian recovery workers roll the Soyuz TMA-05M capsule that landed on Nov. 18, 2012 ET into position to retrieve three Expedition 33 crewmembers who landed on the steppes of Kazakhstan after a 127-day mission to the International Space Station. [See full story.]
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 33 commander, smiles after returning to Earth on Nov. 18 (EST), 2012, aboard a Soyuz TMA-05M space capsule. Williams and two crewmates landed on the frigid steppes of Kazakhstan in Central Asia after a 127-day mission.
The three Expedition 33 crewmembers are seen shortly after landing their Soyuz capsule on the frigid steppes of Kazakhstan on Nov. 18, 2012 (early Nov. 19 local time). From left are: Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and NASA astronaut Sunita Williams (lower right corner, face only).
The Russian Soyuz TMA-05M capsule that returned three Expedition 33 space station astronauts to Earth is seen after being hoisted into its upright position after a Nov. 18 EST landing in 2012. It was early morning Nov. 20 at the landing site on the frozen steppes of Kazakhstan.
Workers with Russia's RSC Energia company hammer a commemorative sign into place to mark the date and location of the Soyuz TMA-05 capsule landing that returned the Expedition 33 crew to Earth on Nov. 18, 2012 (Nov. 19 local time) on the steppes of Kazakhstan.
This view shows the glowing hot plasma trail created by the Soyuz TMA-05M space capsule heat shield during re-entry as it returned the three-person Expedition 33 crew to Earth on Nov. 18, 2012 EST. The view was captured by a camera on the International Space Station.
This still from a NASA TV broadcast shows the inside of Russia's Mission Control Center near Moscow just after the successful landing of a Soyuz TMA-05M capsule carrying the station's Expedition 33 crew on Nov. 18, 2012, EST. The big screen shows an image that proclaims "They've Landed!" in Russian.
This NASA graphic depicts the landing zone (target) and backup ballistic landing zone for return to Earth of a Soyuz TMA-05M capsule carrying three Expedition 33 crewmembers home from the International Space Station on Nov. 18, 2012.
n the International Space Station's Unity node, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 33 commander; along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide (center) and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko (left), both flight engineers, attired in their Russian Sokol launch and entry suits, take a moment for a photo as they prepare to perform the standard leak check in their spacecraft in preparation for their return to Earth on Nov. 18, 2012.
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams bids farewell to the Expedition 33 crew during a ceremony before departing the International Space Station with the homeward bound Expedition 33 crew on Nov. 18, 2012.
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, Soyuz commander and Expedition 33 flight engineer; NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 33 commander; and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide (out of frame), flight engineer, attired in Russian Sokol launch and entry suits, conduct a standard suit leak check in the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft in preparation for their return to Earth scheduled for Nov. 18, 2012.
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 33 commander, attired in a Russian Sokol launch and entry suit, gives a thumbs-up while conducting a standard suit leak check in the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft in preparation for her return to Earth scheduled for Nov. 18, 2012.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide, Expedition 33 flight engineer, attired in a Russian Sokol launch and entry suit, conducts a standard suit leak check in the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft in preparation for his return to Earth scheduled for Nov. 18, 2012.
In the International Space Station's Unity node, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 33 commander; along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide (center) and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko (left), both flight engineers, don their Russian Sokol launch and entry suits to perform the standard leak check in their spacecraft in preparation for their return to Earth on Nov. 18. [See full story.]
