A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two astronauts and one space tourist emerges from the deep black to arrive at the International Space Station (ISS).

This Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft docked at the aft end of the station’s Zvezda service module and ferried U.S. space tourist Anousheh Ansari, Expedition 14 commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin to the orbital laboratory.

Their arrival on Sept. 20 marked the beginning of homecoming preparations for two astronauts already aboard the ISS – Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeffrey Williams – who are landing today on the steppes of Kazakhstan in Central Asia.

Ansari, who became the world’s first female space tourist during her flight, is returning with the Expedition 13 astronauts. Expedition 13 flight engineer Thomas Reiter, a European Space Agency astronaut, stayed aboard the ISS to join the Expedition 14 crew.

• Back to Earth: Expedition 13 Astronauts, Ansari to Leave ISS Today
• IMAGE GALLERY: Launch Day for Expedition 14 Crew, Anousheh Ansari
• IMAGE GALLERY: Anousheh Ansari Prepares for Launch
• Anousheh Ansari: First Female Private Space ‘Explorer’ Visits ISS
• Complete Coverage: ISS Expedition 14

-- Tariq Malik

Credit: NASA.