Russia cosmonauts comment on ISS experience

Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov held a press briefing on Monday following their return to Earth after a stint on the International Space Station (ISS).

Ryzhikov recalled the moment when he came back to the Earth, saying the planet ''welcomed us with love and hugged us tightly.''

A Soyuz space capsule carrying NASA's Kate Rubins and Russians Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov landed at 0455 GMT Saturday in the steppes of Kazakhstan.

They spent six months aboard the International Space Station after arriving at the orbiting laboratory complex on October 14.

Ryzhikov added they will undergo a rehabilitation program after spending time in Space.

There now are seven people aboard the ISS: NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Russians Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov arrived on April 9; Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japan's Soichi Noguchi came aboard in November on the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience, the first ISS docking under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Kud-Sverchkov said during the news briefing that the ISS becomes ''quite tight'' at times, but everyone tried to be respectful.