Three astronauts return to Earth from ISS: Official

ARKALYK, Kazakhstan (AFP) - Three astronauts returned safely to Earth from the International Space early Saturday, aboard a Russian capsule which landed on the freezing Kazakhstan steppe, mission control said.

"There is landing!" flashed a Russian mission control centre message transmitted by Nasa. Rescue teams rushed to recover the capsule carrying Nasa US astronaut Kevin Ford and Russian flight engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin.

"The crew felt normal through the descent and landing, their mood is good," Russian agencies quoted the Russian mission control official commentator.

Saturday's landing had been delayed by a day due to poor weather conditions, but rescue helicopters still had to brace for thick ground fog and clouds which descended on the landing area and drastically reduced visibility.