NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 has returned to Earth after five months aboard the International Space Station. The SpaceX "Endurance" capsule carried Koichi Wakata of Japan, Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina, and NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada. It crashed into the Gulf of Mexico shortly after 21:00 p.m. (2:00 GMT) off the west coast of Florida.

Crew-5, launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida in early October 2022, was the fifth mission into space for Wakata and the first for Cassada, Kikina and Mann, who also became the first Native American woman in space, NASA said.

Before leaving the ISS, Crew-5 was greeted by members of the next Crew-6 mission, which was launched on March 1 from Cape Canaveral. Less than a week earlier, a Soyuz rocket was launched from Kazakhstan to replace the MS-22, another Russian ship that was damaged while attached to the ISS.

The three members of MS-22, one American and two Russian, were originally supposed to return at the end of March after about six months in space, but will now remain for almost a year. Cooperation on the ISS has become one of the few remaining areas where the United States and Russia have continued to work together since Moscow invaded Ukraine more than a year ago.

"It was a nice ride," Mann said moments after landing. "We are happy to be home." Mann, a Wailacki member of the Indian tribes of Northern California's Round Valley, said he couldn't wait to feel the wind on his face, smell the fresh grass and enjoy some delicious Earth food. Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata craved sushi, while Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina wanted to drink hot tea "from a real cup, not from a plastic bag."