NASA’s Crew-12 astronauts are preparing to leave the International Space Station after a mission lasting almost eight months. NASA and SpaceX are targeting
undocking at 8:05 am EDT on October 7, 2026, which is 5:35 pm IST, if weather and spacecraft checks remain favourable.
The four-member team includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Their Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to splash down off California at about 11:34 am EDT on October 8, or 9:04 pm IST.
Crew-12 return schedule in India
NASA plans to begin hatch-closure coverage at 3:30 pm IST on October 7. Undocking coverage should start at 5:15 pm IST, followed by undocking 20 minutes later. Return coverage is due to begin at 7:50 pm IST on October 8, with the deorbit burn at 8:16 pm IST and splashdown at 9:04 pm IST.
All times can change. Mission managers are watching conditions in the Pacific recovery area as well as the readiness of Dragon and the recovery teams. If the weather turns poor, NASA and SpaceX can delay departure or landing.
Why the mission lasted nearly eight months
Crew-12 launched from Cape Canaveral on February 13 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. The mission restored the station to normal staffing after Crew-11 returned early because of a medical concern. Reuters reported at launch that the astronauts were expected to spend about eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory.
During the mission, the crew supported scientific and technical work in microgravity. Research listed at launch included studies involving pneumonia-causing bacteria and interactions between plants and nitrogen-fixing microbes. Such experiments are intended to improve knowledge for health, food production and longer journeys beyond low Earth orbit.
What happens after undocking
Dragon will move away from the station and travel toward its landing zone before firing its engines for the deorbit burn. The capsule will then enter Earth’s atmosphere and descend under parachutes into the Pacific, where recovery teams will approach it.
NASA will stream the key stages on NASA Live and NASA+. The crew will undergo routine medical checks after recovery as they readjust to Earth’s gravity. The space agency has also scheduled a briefing after splashdown to discuss the return and upcoming station operations.
