Soyuz spacecraft after landing, photographed from a recovery helicopter circling the touchdown zone in Kazakhstan, on 1 July 2012.

ESA astronaut André Kuipers landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 08:14 GMT after 193 days in space. André conducted many scientific experiments during his six-month PromISSe mission on the International Space Station.

In addition to his scientific workload, André carried out maintenance and operational tasks. Highlights included receiving ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle Edoardo Amaldi cargo ferry and docking the first commercial spacecraft, Dragon.