NASA SpaceX Crew-12 splashes down off California coast

Parachutes deploy over the Pacific in the FOX 5 New York video. The channel’s own description says they slowed the SpaceX Dragon’s descent into the ocean off California.

NASA said the capsule Freedom splashed down at 11:34 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, off the coast of Los Angeles. The YouTube clip, titled “Crew 12 successfully splashes down off coast” and posted the same day.

Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway of NASA, Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency, and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos were aboard. They had spent 237 days on the International Space Station. NASA reported the crew traveled more than 100 million miles and completed more than 3,792 orbits.

Adenot finished three spacewalks and became the first French woman to spacewalk, according to NASA. Meir completed four spacewalks on the flight, bringing her career total to seven and placing her third all-time among NASA women. She has now logged 440 cumulative days in space, a figure that puts her in the agency’s Top 10. The mission was the second spaceflight for Meir and Fedyaev and the first for Hathaway and Adenot, NASA said.

Crew-12 lifted off at 5:15 a.m. EST on Feb. 13, 2026, and docked the next day. Crew-13 arrived at the station on Oct. 1 to replace them, FOX 35 Orlando reported, citing NASA. Research on the flight included testing stem cell production for cell-based therapies, demonstrating on-demand IV fluid generation, studying how pneumonia-causing bacteria can lead to long-term heart damage, plus nutrition work and blood-flow studies, according to NASA.

“Jessica, Jack, Sophie, and Andrey spent 237 days living and working in orbit, traveled more than 100 million miles, advanced important science, and returned safely home because of the extraordinary expertise and competence of thousands across NASA, SpaceX, and our international partners,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement released by the agency. “Building the capability, experience, and confidence to do this repeatedly is exactly what will allow us to go farther, and I am grateful to Crew-12 and their families for their service to humanity’s greatest adventure.”

Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program at Johnson Space Center, said the agency’s station work transporting crew, conducting research and maintaining assets enables the science and risk reduction needed for future missions across the solar system. “We’re grateful for the dedication across the human spaceflight team that makes this possible, and we’re thrilled to welcome Jessica, Jack, Sophie, and Andrey home,” she said, according to NASA.