Saudi Astronauts Return to Earth after Space Mission

Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al Qarni concluded Tuesday their 10-day historic mission on the International Space Station (ISS) and began their journey back to Earth.

The four-person crew, dubbed the Axiom-2 mission, arrived on Earth, Wednesday.

The Saudi Space Commission (SSC) welcomed on Twitter the return of Saudi astronauts, Ali Al-Qarni and Rayana Barnawi.

"The land of yours is proud of you, and the people are also proud of you. Our heroic astronauts return to Earth after the success of their scientific mission at the International Space Station," the statement reads.

The return trip concludes the second mission to the space station that was organized, equipped, and trained by Axiom Space, a Houston-based company founded seven years ago and headed by the former International Space Station program manager at NASA.

The Axiom 2 crew was led by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, 63, who holds the record for most time spent in orbit having logged 665 days in space during three long-duration missions to the ISS, including 10 spacewalks.

The other American onboard Ax-2 is John Shoffner, who formed the fiber optics company Dura-Line in the 1980s and retired from his role as CEO in 1997. He has accumulated more than 8,500 flight hours and has performed numerous skydives. Shoffner also participates in motorsports.