NASA SpaceX Crew-12 Splashdown: Time and How to Watch
The four-person crew of NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission is due to leave the International Space Station on Monday, Oct. 5. They are planned to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off Southern California on Tuesday, Oct. 6, just past noon EDT (just past 16:00 UTC), CBS News reports.
Status as of Oct. 2: NASA has not yet published its return coverage schedule. It said it would share details after Crew-13 arrived, which happened on Oct. 1. Dates and times below are plans and can change.
What time does Crew-12 splash down?
| Where | Splashdown, Tue. Oct. 6 (about) |
|---|---|
| UTC | 16:00 |
| Los Angeles | 9:00 am |
| Mexico City | 10:00 am |
| New York | 12:00 pm |
| Sao Paulo | 1:00 pm |
| London, Lagos | 5:00 pm |
| Paris, Johannesburg | 6:00 pm |
| Mecca, Riyadh, Cairo, Nairobi | 7:00 pm |
| Dubai | 8:00 pm |
| Karachi | 9:00 pm |
| Delhi, Mumbai | 9:30 pm |
| Dhaka | 10:00 pm |
| Jakarta | 11:00 pm |
| Kuala Lumpur, Singapore | 12:00 am Wed. |
| Tokyo | 1:00 am Wed. |
| Sydney | 3:00 am Wed. |
The reports say "just past noon EDT", so the real time will be a few minutes after the hour shown. The undocking time on Oct. 5 has not been announced.
What we know about the return
- Undocking: planned for Oct. 5, after a short handover to the Crew-13 astronauts, who entered the station on Oct. 1.
- Splashdown: in the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast on Oct. 6, Spaceflight Now reports.
- Capsule: the Crew Dragon named Freedom, per Wikipedia.
- Time in space: about 235 days. The crew launched on Feb. 13 and docked the next day.
How to watch the splashdown
NASA streams its coverage on NASA+ and through nasa.gov/live, which lists every platform, YouTube included. It posts undocking and splashdown updates on its space station blog. NASA had not yet listed the start times for Crew-12's return coverage on Oct. 2, so check both before the day.
Who is coming home
- Jessica Meir (NASA), commander, on her second spaceflight, with seven spacewalks to her credit. She says she is looking forward to seeing her 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter and to feeling the breeze again.
- Jack Hathaway (NASA), pilot, on his first spaceflight. His wish list includes a long hot shower.
- Sophie Adenot (ESA), mission specialist, on her first spaceflight. Her mission is called Epsilon. During it she tested a prototype European spacesuit, the EuroSuit, Wikipedia notes.
- Andrey Fedyaev (Roscosmos), mission specialist, on his second spaceflight. He is the first Russian to fly twice on a Crew Dragon.
Why they are coming home in October
Crew-12 launched on Feb. 13, after Crew-11 returned early on Jan. 15 because of a medical issue affecting one of its crew members. Crew-12 was expected home in September, but the delay to Crew-13's launch extended its stay by a few weeks. Crew-13 was held back to replace a leaking valve in its Dragon's propulsion system, Spaceflight Now reports.
What comes next at the station
- Crew-12's departure frees a port on the Harmony module for a SpaceX cargo Dragon due on Oct. 13, carrying supplies, science gear and two roll-out solar arrays, CBS News reports.
- Spacewalks late this month and in early November will install the final two sets of roll-out solar arrays.
- Crew-13 stays about six months. See our page on the Crew-13 launch and docking.
Times are plans as reported on Oct. 1 and 2, 2026. Follow NASA for the final schedule.
