Soyuz TMA-05M Departs International Space Station
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 Re-Entry Plasma Streak
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 Re-Entry Plasma Streak #2
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 Re-Entry Plasma Streak #3
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 Re-Entry Plasma Streak #4
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.
Expedition 33 Soyuz Landing 1000
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 Soyuz Landing
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.
Soyuz Capsule Lands Expedition 33 Crew
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.]
Expedition 33 Landing: Sunita Williams
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.
Expedition 33 Crew after Soyuz Landing
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).
Expedition 33 Landing: Soyuz Capsule Upright
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.
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