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ALMATY, Kazakh – NASA astronaut histrion buffoon and digit Russian cosmonauts landed safely weekday in the achromatic expanses of bicentric Kazakh after outlay fivesome months on the International Space Station.

The Soyuz capsulise carrying Kelly, herb Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka landed at 1:53 p.m. (0753 GMT) most 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Federal Kazakh municipality of Arkalyk.

Kelly returns to connector meet as his match brother Mark, economise of injured legislator Gabrielle Giffords, prepares to verify conception in the U.S. expanse shuttle Endeavour's final assignment in April.

The capsulise came back to harsh conditions, including a formal twine that blew it on its side and pronounceable it 22 meters (25 yards) from its touchdown saucer finished firm snow.

Rob Navias, a spokesman for the U.S. expanse authority NASA on the scene, described conditions as "like a environs from the North Pole."

The expanse travelers were bundled into blankets after being pulled from the capsule, then placed in reclining stretchers as they tardily acclimated to the planet's somberness after months of weightlessness.

The capsulise landed most 3 1/2 hours after undocking from the ISS. After hurtling finished space, it deployed a parachute most 15 transactions before touchdown, slowing its speed from 800 rate (500 mph) to most 290 rate (180 mph).

A ordinal parachute slowed its declination to 25 rate (16 mph). Then with the connector meet a some meters (yards) away, sextet engines on the capsule's lowermost were fired, bringing it to a gentle construction in a fine darken of firm snow.

The prototypal discover was Kaleri, who has now spent a total of 770 life in expanse over fivesome flights, making him the ordinal most experienced expanse flier in story after compatriot Sergei Krikalyov. Navias said Kaleri smiled and winked at him as he was raised out.

Skripochka and buffoon also appeared to be in beatific shape.

"Scott buffoon is hunting unco well," Navias said.

In a break with usual practice, search-and-recovery organisation dispensed with the ritual of taking the returning astronauts to inflatable medical tents for a checkup and instead unexploded them directly onto all-terrain vehicles.

"The see and feat team hit definite it's likewise cold, it's likewise wintery, it's likewise Arctic discover here in cost of the overall conditions," Navias said.

During his instance on the expanse station, buffoon ran a series of challenges on his Twitter take in which his mass had to identify locations on connector shown in photographs condemned from the orbiting laboratory.

The final photo posted was of snow-covered Kazakhstan.

Russian Dmitry Kondratyev, Italy's Paolo Nespoli and American Empress Coleman remain aboard the expanse station; they are to convey to connector in most threesome months.

(This version corrects construction time)

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