Three astronauts from Russia and the U.S. returned to Earth on Monday after leaving the International Space Station (ISS).

On Monday, Russians Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub alongside American Tracy Dyson arrived in a capsule that touched down in the expansive Kazakhstan steppe.

The capsule landed on the Kazakh steppe about 3 1/2 hours after undocking from the space station in an apparently trouble-free descent. In the last stage of the landing, it descended under a red-and-white parachute at about 7.2 meters per second (16 mph), with small rockets fired in the final seconds to cushion the touchdown.

| In this photo taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation, Russian Soyuz MS-25 space capsule carrying the NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson and the Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub lands south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024

The astronauts were extracted from the capsule and placed in nearby chairs to help them adjust to gravity, then given medical examinations in a nearby tent.

Kononenko and Chub launched to the International Space Station on Sept. 15, 2023, and on Friday set the record for the longest continuous stay on the ISS. Dyson, on her third space mission, spent six months aboard the station.

"Astronaut Tracy Dyson and her crewmates are set to return to Earth from the
@Space_Station on Sept. 23. Join us for live coverage starting at 12:45 a.m. ET (0445 UTC). Undocking is scheduled for 4:37 a.m. ET (0837 UTC)," National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

| In this photo taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation, rescue team members help NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson to leave the capsule shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-25 space capsule carrying the NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson and the Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024

| In this photo taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation, Roscosmos cosmonaut Nikolai Chub sits in a chair shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-25 space capsule carrying NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024

| In this photo taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation, the NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson holds a Russian traditional Matryoshka wooden doll depicting her shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-25 space capsule carrying the NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson and the Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024

Eight astronauts are still aboard the space station, including Americans Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose return to Earth has been delayed well beyond the original schedule.

They arrived in June as the inaugural crew aboard Boeing's new Starliner capsule, but their mission faced setbacks due to thruster malfunctions and helium leaks. NASA ultimately determined it was too risky to bring them back on Starliner.

Wilmore and Williams are set to return to Earth on a SpaceX ship next year.

Earlier this month, Boeing's Starliner capsule made its return to Earth but without the two astronauts, Williams and Wimore, on board. Six hours after leaving the International Space Station, Starliner descended through the dark desert skies on autopilot, landing by parachute at New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range on September 7.

| In this handout provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), back dropped by planet Earth the International Space Station (ISS) is seen from NASA space shuttle Endeavour after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation May 29, 2011 in space. On Sept. 23, 2024, three astronauts are set to return to Earth following a trip on the International Space Station

"It's been a journey to get here, and we're excited to have Starliner come home," said Steve Stich, NASA's commercial crew program manager.

The Starliner's challenges are not new. Boeing's first test flight in 2019 was marred by software errors that prevented the capsule from reaching the ISS. After three years, the mission was repeated with a new hosting of issues surfaced. Over $1 billion in repairs and modifications were carried out as a result.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press