Inspiration4 crew celebrates return to Earth after 3-day SpaceX mission

The Inspiration4 crew poses for a selfie in the Crew Dragon cupola. (Image credit: Inspiration4)

Inspiration4's crew of civilian astronauts is sharing their joy after returning to Earth from their three-day mission in orbit.

Last Wednesday (Sept. 15), four people strapped into a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule and launched to space for Inspiration4, the first all-civilian mission to orbit the planet. The crew landed back on Earth Saturday (Sept. 18), splashing down off the Florida coast at 7:06 p.m. EDT (2306 GMT). 

After a successful parachute-assisted landing in the Atlantic Ocean, the crew was quick to share their excitement online.

"Happy. Healthy. Home." Inspiration4's official mission Twitter account shared on Saturday. "Welcome back to Earth."

Video: Splashdown! SpaceX Inspiration4 crew back on Earth
Live updates: 
SpaceX's Inspiration4 private all-civilian orbital mission

See more

The official mission account tweeted again on Sunday (Sept. 19), sharing a selfie that the crew took together while in space.

See more

"Splashdown!!!" mission pilot Sian Proctor tweeted a little over two hours after landing. "Best ride of my life! Thank you @SpaceX and @elonmusk@" she tweeted a few minutes later alongside a SpaceX post showing video of the splashdown.

See more
See more

Proctor went on to share that she has "nothing but #gratitude!! Thank you to everyone who helped make our mission a success and supported us through the historic journey," and "We did it!!!" she added in two follow-up tweets. 

See more
See more

"We accomplished all of our on-orbit objectives but the most emotional point for me was shortly after splashdown when we learned we surpassed our @StJude fundraising goal," mission commander Jared Isaacman shared Monday (Sept. 20) morning following a $50 million donation from SpaceX founder Elon Musk. 

See more

Mission specialist Chris Sembroski also shared his joy following the mission. "What an amazing adventure! I’m so glad to be home on earth and to be back with my family. There is so much to share! What an amazing @inspiration4x team! Thanks @SpaceX!" he tweeted.

See more

"There were four in this Dragon, but all of us went along for the ride," he tweeted. "Thank you to everyone for making this mission so successful."

Mission medical officer Hayley Arceneaux also shared her excitement and joy after safely and successfully completing the mission and landing back on Earth.

"The absolute most incredible experience of my life," Arceneaux shared after landing. "Can't wait to share more with you all!"

See more

Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd@space.com or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Chelsea Gohd
Senior Writer

Chelsea “Foxanne” Gohd joined Space.com in 2018 and is now a Senior Writer, writing about everything from climate change to planetary science and human spaceflight in both articles and on-camera in videos. With a degree in Public Health and biological sciences, Chelsea has written and worked for institutions including the American Museum of Natural History, Scientific American, Discover Magazine Blog, Astronomy Magazine and Live Science. When not writing, editing or filming something space-y, Chelsea "Foxanne" Gohd is writing music and performing as Foxanne, even launching a song to space in 2021 with Inspiration4. You can follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd and @foxannemusic.