4 ISS astronauts from 4 different countries return to Earth after replacements arrive

After 6 months onboard the ISS, 1 astronaut said he was looking forward to eating something crunchy

Commercial company involvement in lunar landing is 'good': Former NASA astronaut

Former NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson reacts to the advancement of space exploration on 'Your World.'

Four astronauts from four countries caught a lift back to Earth with SpaceX on Tuesday to end a half-year mission at the International Space Station.

Their capsule streaked across the U.S. in the predawn darkness and splashed into the Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Panhandle.

NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli, a Marine helicopter pilot, led the returning crew of Denmark’s Andreas Mogensen, Japan’s Satoshi Furukawa and Russia’s Konstantin Borisov.

NASA UNLOCKS NEW SOUNDS OF THE UNIVERSE WITH PROJECT THAT TRANSFORMS COSMIC DISCOVERIES

They moved into the space station last August. Their replacements arrived last week in their own SpaceX capsule.

Four astronauts after landing in the Gulf of Mexico

From left to right, Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa sit inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Fla., on March 12, 2024.  (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)

"We left you some peanut butter and tortillas," Moghbeli radioed after departing the orbiting complex on Monday. Replied NASA’s Loral O’Hara: "I miss you guys already and thanks for that very generous gift."

O’Hara has another few weeks at the space station before leaving aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule.

Before leaving the space station, Mogensen said via X, formerly known as Twitter, that he couldn’t wait to hear "birds singing in the trees" and also craved crunchy food.

NASA prefers multiple travel options in case of rocket trouble. Boeing should start providing astronaut taxi service with a two-pilot test flight in early May.

via FoxNews March 12th 2024