ISS crew return to earth with a with a hero's and heroine's welcome

Three spacefarers touched down on Thursday and celebrated their return in their own style. 

Christina Koch, trending worldwide with #congratschristina, huddled under her Roscomos blanket and dark sunglasses chatting delightedly with her personal NASA welcome crew.

Alexander Skvortsov looked every part the Russian space veteran as an aide wiped his brow and he tucked into a fresh apple under the firm grip of gravity.

And last but never least, Euronews' very own astronaut-reporter, Luca Parmitano.

A broad grin spread across the face of ESA's charismatic Italian hero as he was carried like a child from the capsule after 231 days in space. Luca looked like he could quite happily have walked, but protocol in the Russian space world rules supreme, and astronauts are obliged to stay sitting down just after landing.

For us, the space fans on the ground, it's the end of a mission that has been particularly fun to watch, as this particular crew, including the trio left on the ISS, clearly enjoyed each other's company and bonded well as a group. 

Luca has shared his experiences with Euronews through the Space Chronicles series, allowing us a unique insight into his daily routine of experiments and spacewalks, and a chance to understand first hand what it's like to live in an orbiting international community."