Astronauts splash down in SpaceX capsule after 200 days in space, 8 hours without a bathroom

Four astronauts arrived back on Earth late Monday when their SpaceX Dragon capsule touched down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. The capsule was hoisted from the water by a recovery ship, and within an hour of splashdown, the four astronauts were aboard the ship, celebrating.
The astronauts — NASA's Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan's Akihiko Hoshide, and Thomas Pesquet of France — spent 200 days aboard the International Space Station, and their eight-hour ride home was on a capsule without a working bathroom. The crew wore diapers, but they took the indignity in stride, calling it one last challenge on a mission that had a few, including huddling in the SpaceX capsule ready to jettison after a new Russian lab's thrusters accidentally propelled the ISS into a spin. The astronauts also conducted four spacewalks, made tacos from space-harvested chili peppers, and hosted a Russian movie crew.
The four astronauts were supposed to come back after their four replacements arrived on the ISS, but NASA reversed the flight order due to bad weather and an undisclosed medical condition of one of the astronauts. The next team will launch for the ISS as early as Wednesday for a six-month mission that will include hosting the first two groups of space tourists arriving in December and February.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Disarming Hezbollah: Lebanon's risky mission
Talking Point Iran-backed militia has brought 'nothing but war, division and misery', but rooting them out for good is a daunting and dangerous task
-
Woof! Britain's love affair with dogs
The Explainer The UK's canine population is booming. What does that mean for man's best friend?
-
Crossword: August 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th test
speed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
Hurricanes are not exclusive to Earth. They can happen in space.
Under the radar These storms may cause navigational problems
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Colorado
speed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's study
Speed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-off
Speed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet undersea
Speed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
-
Answers to how life on Earth began could be stuck on Mars
Under the Radar Donald Trump plans to scrap Nasa's Mars Sample Return mission – stranding test tubes on the Red Planet and ceding potentially valuable information to China
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 years
Speed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes