Space trio returns to Earth in Russian capsule

A Russian and an American returned to Earth on Wednesday with their Japanese commander aboard a Soyuz capsule in the first such landing since Moscow's ties with the West imploded over Ukraine. Koichi Wakata - the first Japanese leader of an International Space Station mission - NASA's Rick Mastracchio and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin completed a 188-day stay that began months before Europe was thrown into its worst security crisis since the Cold War.
The trio was all smiles on Wednesday as they clambered out of the conic capsule in their bulky space suits after touching down without mishap in the sand-swept steppe of Kazakhstan. But Tyurin hinted of the overriding tensions by singing the praises of Russian space equipment that may one day slip out of Western hands.