Japanese Space Tourists Yusaku Maezawa, Yozo Hirano Successfully Return to Earth

05:14 GMT, 20 December 2021

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The reentry capsule of the Russian Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft with Japanese space tourists Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano, as well as Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, has landed in Kazakhstan, a Sputnik correspondent reports from Russian mission control.

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The capsule landed at around 6:16 a.m. Moscow time on Monday (03:16 GMT), 148 kilometres (92 miles) southeast of the Kazakh city of Zhezqazghan.

Less than an hour later, the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, said that the Soyuz crew was helped out of the reentry capsule and all three men were feeling well.

"The search and rescue service specialists completed the evacuation of the entire crew of the # SoyuzMS20 manned spacecraft from the descent vehicle. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants @yousuck2020 [Yusaku Maezawa] and Yozo Hirano feel good!", Roscosmos said on Twitter.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin (C) and space tourists, Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and his production assistant Yozo Hirano, walk before departing for their launch to the International Space Station (ISS)

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The Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) late on Sunday night. After landing, the Soyuz crew will be taken to Zhezqazghan in Russian Search and Rescue All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), according to Roscosmos.

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano arrived at the ISS on 8 December (together with Russian cosmonaut Misurkin). They were the first tourists in 12 years to fly aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS.