A cone-shaped spacecraft and the four large parachutes attached to it against a backdrop of fluffy white clouds in the sky.NASA/Keegan Barber The SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft is seen moments before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California in this Oct. 8, 2026, photograph. Aboard were NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 members NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The four spent nearly eight months aboard the International Space Station.

See more photos from splashdown.

Image credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

Crew-12 Returns to Earth