Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency as

Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi (L), Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov (C), and US astronaut Timothy Creamer (R) are seen shortly after landing in the Russian Soyuz TMA-17 space capsule about 150 km (80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan on June 2, 2010. The Soyuz capsule, which carried the three astronauts safely returned to Earth after a half-year stint on the international space station, with a landing in the Kazakh steppe. AFP PHOTO / POOL / MIKHAIL METZEL (Photo credit should read MIKHAIL METZEL/AFP via Getty Images)