[ISS] Hatches Closed Between Soyuz TMA-12M & ISS As Crew Depart for Earth

Expedition 40 crew members Russian cosmonauts Aleksandr Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev as well as American NASA astronaut Steven Swanson boarded their Soyuz TMA-12M Spacecraft today and closed the hatches between that and the International Space Station (ISS) in preparation for undocking later today. They are due to land back to Earth this evening at 02:23 UTC.

The three crew members have spent 6 months in Space since their launch on March 25th. They will be replaced by Soyuz TMA-14M Russian cosmonauts Aleksandr Samokutyayev and Yelena Serova and American NASA astronaut Barry E. Wilmore due to launch September 25th.