Four astronauts returned to Earth on Thursday after nearly eight months aboard the International Space Station, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule, named Freedom, landed about 50 miles west of Los Angeles at 11:34 a.m. Eastern time, according to CBS News. Recovery crews quickly secured the capsule and brought it aboard the recovery ship Shannon.

The crew included NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. They undocked from the station on Wednesday after a 27-hour return journey.

The spacecraft fired its thrusters for nine minutes to begin descent, then plunged through the atmosphere at nearly five miles per second. Parachutes slowed it from 120 mph to 15 mph before splashdown.

The astronauts now face readjusting to gravity. Meir said she was most excited to feel wind on her face again; Hathaway said a hot shower topped his wish list.