Space station crew returns home after eight-month mission

What happened: Crew 12 commander Jessica Meir, pilot Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev undocked from the ISS in the Crew Dragon "Freedom" early Wednesday, heading for a Thursday splashdown off Southern California. Key numbers: 237-day mission, 3,792 orbits, nearly 101 million miles. Undocking at 8:05 a.m. ET; deorbit burn 10:46 a.m. Why it matters: Meir handed station command to cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov before departure. Crew 13 remains aboard, with Crew 13 planning a six-month tour while the Soyuz MS-29 crew stays eight months.

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