2 Russians and 1 American return to Earth in capsule from space station [Video]

MOSCOW –

A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians and one American from the International Space Station landed Monday in Kazakhstan, ending a record-breaking stay for the Russian pair.

The capsule landed on the Kazakh steppe about 3 1/2 hours after undocking from the space station in an apparently trouble-free descent. In the last stage of the landing, it descended under a red-and-white parachute at about 7.2 metres per second (16 mph), with small rockets fired in the final seconds to cushion the touchdown.

• Top science and technology headlines, all in one place

The astronauts were to be extracted from the capsule and placed in nearby chairs to help them adjust to gravity, then given medical examinations in a nearby tent.

Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub returned after 374 days aboard the space station; on Friday they broke the record for the longest continuous stay there. Also in the capsule was American Tracy Dyson, who was in the space station for six …