One US citizen and two Russians have returned safely to earth after seven months on the International Space Station, ISS, Russian space agency Roscosmos, the US space agency, NASA said. The Soyuz capsule carrying astronaut, Don Pettit, cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner landed at 0130 GMT on Sunday near Zhezkazgan on the steps of the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan. Pettit celebrates his 70th birthday on Sunday, according to Nasa. The crew had been in space since September 11. In spite of the serious international political tensions in the wake of the Russian war against Ukraine, Russia and the US have continue to work together when it comes to space exploration. Astronauts repeatedly use Russian spacecraft to reach the ISS. In March, NASA’s stranded astronauts were rescued by Elon Musk’s SpaceX after nine months in space. The extraordinary mission was live streamed by NASA and took place two hours prior to departure. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday