The return of the 73rd long-duration expedition crew from the International Space Station to Earth is scheduled for December 9, 2025. On board the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft will be Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Alexei Zubritsky, as well as NASA astronaut Jonathan Kim. They have been in orbit since April 2025.
The descent of the spacecraft from orbit takes about three and a half hours and proceeds in several key stages. After undocking from the ISS, the Soyuz makes approximately 2.5 hours of autonomous flight, stabilizes, and performs maneuvers to enter the descent trajectory. Then, the braking engine is activated, which puts the spacecraft into an orbit for departure from the ISS.
During the atmospheric entry phase, the Soyuz separates into compartments, and the descent module experiences significant aerodynamic loads. For a safe landing, the parachute system is deployed, slowing the descent speed to a safe level. The landing phase with parachute deployment takes about 15 minutes. In total, the spacecraft covers about 16,500 km from undocking with the ISS to landing.
