IT Home reported on February 10 that, according to NASA's official news, the SpaceX "Dragon" spacecraft splashed down near Daytona Beach in Florida at 21:30 Beijing time (8:30 a.m. EST) on February 9, ending the AX-3 mission of Axiom Space.
Axiom Space astronauts Michael López-Alegría, Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt and Alper Gezer**ci completed their mission of almost 22 days, 18 of which were on the space station, IT House has learned. The team on board SpaceX recovered the spacecraft and astronauts.
Low Earth orbit is now within the economic influence of humans. It provides the best opportunity for the U.S. commercial space sector to capture new global and domestic markets and provide critical capabilities to the nation's space targets," said Phil McAllister, director of the Commercial Space Division at NASA's Washington headquarters. "This groundbreaking AX-3 mission is part of a larger effort pushed by NASA to open up space for more people, more research, and more opportunities as the agency prepares to transition to a future private space station by the end of this decade. ”
The crew spent more than two weeks conducting microgravity research, educational outreach and commercial activities. The spacecraft returns to Florida for inspection and processing at SpaceX's Space Force base at Cape Canaveral, where the team will examine the spacecraft's data and performance throughout the flight. Throughout the mission, the astronauts conducted more than 30 scientific experiments and returned NASA cargo to Earth.