Astronauts prepare to return to Earth Wednesday

TORONTO — Three astronauts who have lived aboard the International Space Station for almost six months are set to return home.

NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore and Russians Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova are scheduled undock from the station in their Soyuz spacecraft at 6:44 p.m. ET Wednesday night. They will land in Kazakhstan at 10:07 p.m.

Wilmore handed over command of the orbiting laboratory to American astronaut Alexander Virts on Tuesday. Virts will now lead Expedition 43.

Meanwhile, three new crew members of Expedition 43, Russian Gennady Padalka, and the “One-Year” crew members that include American Scott Kelly and Russian Mikhail Kornienko, are preparing for their March 27 launch.

You can watch the return of Expedition 42 on NASA TV.

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