Malenchenko and Lu, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque, undocked from the International Space Station in their Soyuz spacecraft at 6:17 PM EST on Monday, October 27. They landed safely in Kazakhstan at 9:41 PM EST.
Helicopters with US and Russian ground support personnel retrieved the crew shortly before 10 PM EST. NASA officials and flight surgeons reported Malenchenko, Lu and Duque were in excellent condition.
After brief medical exams and a trip to the Russian space center near Moscow for a reunion with their families, the crew will begin their formal rehabilitation regimen. Malenchenko and Lu are expected to return to the Johnson Space Center in Houston in approximately two weeks.
For the last week, Malenchenko, Lu and Duque have been conducting joint experiments and handover activities with the Expedition 8 crew -- Commander and NASA Station Science Officer Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri -- who arrived on a Soyuz on October 20.
Malenchenko and Lu, who have been on board since late April, turned the Station over to Expedition 8 in a change of command ceremony on Friday, October 24. Both crews commented on the importance of carrying on the mission in the wake of the Columbia tragedy.
"We have continued the work ... because our friends have given their lives so that ... all humanity as a whole could continue space exploration," Malenchenko said through a translator.
During their time on board, Expedition 7 conducted a host of science experiments and observed the Earth from their unique perspective 240 miles above. Among the many photos sent down from the station were stunning images of a huge Hurricane Isabel as it churned toward the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.
With the shuttle fleet temporarily grounded, a key part of Expedition 7's mission was station operations and maintenance. As Lu put it in a pre-flight interview: "Our job is ... to keep this place running until such time as we can finish the construction."
"In ten or 20 years when we look back at this," Lu added, "I hope they say, 'Hey, they did a really good job keeping this going. And in the end, look at what they made out of this.'"
Once the Expedition 7 crew undocks, Foale and Kaleri will settle down to work, beginning a more than six-month stint in orbit.
Foale and Kaleri, both veterans of long-duration space flight, will monitor the arrival of three Russian Progress resupply cargo ships filled with food, fuel, water, new research experiments and supplies. They will also upgrade the software in the on-board Station computers, work with the robotic arm to observe the Station's exterior, and check out the robotic system's performance in orbit.
The pair may also perform a spacewalk to swap out experiments on the Zvezda Service Module, and prepare Zvezda for the planned arrival next year of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle, which will deliver equipment and supplies.
"The International Space Station is a very good step forward," says Kaleri, "and it's a very good experience for us that can show us how to work together in the future ... We can go together on Mars, we can go to other planets. At least I would like to believe that."
