Japanese Astronaut Onishi Heading Back to Earth After Finishing Long-Term Stay on ISS

By Keiichi Nakane / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

17:38 JST, August 9, 2025

WASHINGTON — Takuya Onishi and three other astronauts from the United States and Russia departed the International Space Station at 7:15 a.m. on Saturday, Japan time, and began their journey aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft to return to Earth.

The spacecraft, operated by U.S. company SpaceX, is scheduled to splash down off the coast of California on early Sunday morning.

Onishi, 49, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, arrived at the ISS in March and conducted medical and scientific experiments, including research on the functioning of the human immune system in space. It was his second stay and in April, he became the third Japanese astronaut to serve as ISS commander.

During his last days on the ISS, he was joined by another JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, 55, who arrived on Aug. 2.

“The ISS is a very special place for me, as it’s where I devoted all of my adolescence as an astronaut,” Onishi said at a press conference held on the ISS on Monday.

Onishi was initially scheduled to leave the ISS on Thursday, but the departure was postponed due to a forecast of strong winds at the splashdown site.