NASA astronaut Chris Williams returned to Earth Sunday after 241 days aboard the International Space Station, touching down in the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft alongside Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev at 6:27 AM ET southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.
All three were out of the capsule and in the care of medical teams within 30 minutes.
Williams, 42, is heading home to Houston for post-flight medical evaluations at NASA's Johnson Space Center, but his roots are in Maryland. He was born in New York City, grew up in Potomac, graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring in 2001 and went on to study physics at Stanford before earning a doctorate at MIT.
Before NASA selected him as an astronaut in 2021, he was a medical researcher working on imaging and radiation treatments for cancer patients.
His first spaceflight included two spacewalks and a range of scientific experiments covering cancer treatments, semiconductor manufacturing and spacecraft water systems. He also found time for photography, his parents, who still live in Potomac, are reportedly expecting a full album.
Command of the ISS passed to NASA astronaut Jessica Meir during a Change-of-Command ceremony Saturday. Expedition 75 is now underway.