Three astronauts from the International Space Station arrived back on earth Wednesday after completing a 5 1/2-month mission that included robotic renovations.
The two Americans and one Russian landed in a Soyuz capsule shortly after sunrise Wednesday, local time, in frigid Kazakhstan.
NASA flight controllers had feared snow and freezing rain might hamper recovery efforts.
NASA's Joseph Acaba and Mark Vande Hei, and Russia's Alexander Misurkin left three other astronauts on the space station.