By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) - Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, along with crew members from the US and Russia, returned Saturday to Earth after spending nearly five months orbiting the planet aboard the International Space Station, media reports said Sunday.
Onishi, 49, from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, along with two Americans and a Russian, left the station on SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule late Friday, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.
"Thank you very much to everyone who supported me during my long stay on the ISS," Onishi wrote on X.
Onishi left Earth in March from the Kennedy Space Center in the US state of Florida aboard the Crew Dragon.
He took part in scientific experiments with a view toward a future lunar exploration during his mission.
In April, Onishi became the third Japanese astronaut to serve as International Space Station commander.
Another Japanese astronaut, Kimiya Yui, 55, who arrived at the station Aug. 2, will remain in space.
*Writing by Aamir Latif