American astronaut Jonny Kim returns to Earth after 245-day mission, NASA says

NASA says American astronaut Jonny Kim has safely returned to Earth on Tuesday after spending 245 days in orbit on the International Space Station (ISS), alongside two Roscosmos cosmonauts.

It was the first-ever space mission for 41-year-old Kim, whose capsule, carrying all three crewmates, made a parachute-assisted landing about 10:00 a.m. local time near the Kazakh city of Zhezkazgan, an area commonly used for return space landings (and launching).

Kim and his Russian counterparts, cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Alexei Zubritsky, took off in their Soyuz MS-27 space capsule roughly 11 hours earlier, “wrapping up an eight-month science mission aboard the International Space Station to benefit life on Earth and future space exploration,” NASA said.

Launched to the ISS on April 8th, the three-man crew has orbited Earth 3,920 times, traveling nearly 104 million miles over the course of 245 days.

“Greatest privilege of my life”

Jonathan Yong "Jonny" Kim, a physician, US Navy officer, dual-designated naval aviator and flight surgeon, and former Navy SEAL, first joined the Navy in 2002.

The Los Angeles native, born to South Korean immigrants, had been documenting his time aboard the space station on social media throughout the mission.

Kim would highlight everything from his choice of NASA-issued MREs (Meal, Ready-to-Eat) to his first haircut in space to making critical maintenance repairs on the ISS' Thermal Amine Scrubber (TAS), which helps to remove CO2 from the spacecraft.

Only hours before the return voyage, Kim posted his final message from the "orbiting laboratory" to the world below on X.

“M+244: 8 months in space on the International @Space_Station has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Thoughts from a departing space sailor,” he posted along with an accompanying 2-minute video.

M+244: Spending 8 months in space on the International @Space_Station has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Thoughts from a departing space sailor. pic.twitter.com/SmOSmXdXt9

undefined Jonny Kim (@JonnyKimUSA) December 8, 2025

Contributions to medicine, space tech

NASA says Kim contributed to a wide range of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations while on the 8-month mission.

In one experiment, to advance space-based tissue production for patients on Earth, Kim studied the behavior of bioprinted tissues containing blood vessels in microgravity.

As part of the Surface Avatar study supporting the development of robotic assistants for future space exploration, Kim was tasked with evaluating remote command of multiple robots while in space.

Additionally, Kim also worked on developing in-space manufacturing of DNA-mimicking nanomaterials, aimed at improving drug delivery technologies, emerging therapeutics, and regenerative medicine, the agency stated.

The joint mission between NASA and Russia's Roscosmos space agency marked the first spaceflight for both Kim and Zubritsky, while Ryzhikov completed his third journey to space, logging a total of 603 days, NASA said.

NASA officials say once post-medical checks are complete, Kim will travel back to the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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