European Space Agency Luca Parmitano returned to Earth early Monday morning, landing in the Kazakhstan steppe with his two colleagues, Russian commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg.
Their return flight was in the same Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft that flew them to the International Space Station on 29 May.
Luca spent five months on the International Space Station for his "Volare" mission under a bilateral agreement with the Italian Space Agency and NASA. He conducted more than 30 scientific experiments, performed operational tasks and two spacewalks - the first Italian to do so - as well as maintaining the orbital outpost.
Luca and Karen will now travel to Houston, Texas, where they will undergo medical checks before meeting with the media on 13 November.
Watch ESA's video of Parmitano's first spacewalk:
