It was a happy landing for the astronauts returning to earth this Thursday (June 11), after more than six months spent in space.<br /><br /> The landing went smoothly in the steppes of Kazakhstan. “It was a textbook homecoming for the Expedition 43 crew,” a NASA presenter said after the descent capsule of the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft touched ground at 1944 local time (1344 GMT) in central Kazakhstan.<br /><br /> Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov was the first to enjoy the sunlight and fresh air, followed by Italy’s Samantha Cristoforetti, of the European Space Agency.<br /><br /> Cristoforetti broke a record and is now the female astronaut boasting the single longest spaceflight, with 199 days aboard the International Space Station – a month longer than planned because of a cargo delivery problem.<br /><br /> Expedition 43 Commander Terry Virts, of NASA, was last to exit the Soyuz spacecraft.<br /><br /> The three astronauts were carried and put on semi-reclined chairs a few minutes later, under a setting sun. They got their pulse an
