Recovery crew met Peake and his crewmates Colonel Tim Kopra and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko at 10.15

Father, Nigel, said it was 'a job well done' and mother Angela looks forward to seeing son at midnight on his return


Major Tim Peake said he might treat himself to a 'pizza and a cold beer' when he touched down on Earth after six months in space today.

Recovery crews rushed to meet Britain's first astronaut as the tiny capsule parachuted down into the desert in Kazakhastan at around 10.15am.

Still dressed in his spacesuit, Major Tim Peake said: 'It was incredible. The best ride I've been on ever. Truly amazing. A life-changing experience.

'The smell on Earth is really strong. Looking forward to seeing the family. I'm going to miss the view, definitely.

'I'd like some cool rain right now; it's very hot in the suit. It's very hot in the capsule.'

Tim Peake and his two crewmates were welcomed back to Earth today by a party of photographers and locals brandishing gifts

Britsh astronaut Tim Peake has finally touched down after a 78million-mile journey through space during a six-month expedition

The first thing that Tim Peake did was call his family while still in his spacesuit after touching down in Kazakhastan at around 10.15am

Major Peake (left) returned home with crewmates Yuri Malenchenko of Russia (centre) and Tim Kopra of the US - the most dangerous part of the mission

This is the moment that the capsule finally landed in the dusty desert in Kazakhastan, marking the end of Major Tim Peake's space mission

His ship was seen parachuting back down to Earth after a terrifying descent, covering 67 miles in just six minutes

As Major Peake touched down, his father Nigel said it was 'a job well done' and mother Angela said she was looking forward to seeing her son at some time just after midnight

Tim Peake shared this photo of him and his two crewmates a few hours before they began their descent back down to Earth

A welcoming party of around 50 people is waiting in Cologne for his return. They clapped and cheered as he finally touched down safely

The space capsule, Soyuz, carrying Major Peake is seen leaving the space station and beginning its journey home just after 3am today

Tim Peake (left) and Commander Yuri Malenchenko, who will now fly to Cologne, Germany, via Norway

Members of a search and rescue team work at the site of landing of the Soyuz, which was blackened by the heat of the descent

Tim Peake is assisted by ground personnel as he walks out of a helicopter upon his arrival at the airport of Karaganda, Kazakhstan

Peake is helped as he gets off the helicopter. His body will take some time to re-adjust to gravity after six months of weightlessness

Asked what he is looking forward to, he said he will 'maybe' treat himself to a 'pizza and a cold beer'.

However, he will have to wait because astronauts must fast for their first day after returning from space while doctors to essential medical tests.

He will now fly to Cologne, Germany, where he will meet his mother and father, as well as wife, Rebecca, and their two sons, Oliver and Thomas.

Major Peake was seen speaking to them on the phone before going to meet doctors, who will be testing to see what impact space has had on his body.

He will now have to undergo 21 days of physical reconditioning as his body adapts to working harder than it did in space, where astronauts experience weightlessness.

As he touched down today, his father Nigel said it was 'a job well done', and that he is immensely proud of his son.

His mother, Angela Peake, said they are due to see him just after midnight in Cologne, where they are with a welcoming party of around 50 friends, relatives and colleagues.

Nigel Peake added: 'I'm so proud of him and what he has achieved, and very grateful he had the opportunity.'

The terrifying descent was the most dangerous part of the mission, the ship slowing rapidly from 17,398 mph to 514mph.

It covered 67 miles in just six minutes as it re-entered the atmosphere, during which point the outer wall of the capsule heated up to more than 1,600C.

Major Peake looked tearful as he touched down today (pictured) following a 78million-mile journey through space over six months

Recovery crews met Major Peake and his crewmates at around 10.15am when they landed safely after the terrifying descent

The British atronaut (right) is now on his way back with his crewmates, American Nasa astronaut Colonel Tim Kopra (centre) and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko (left)

British astronaut Tim Peake has now ended the historic mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS)

But his parents said they were 'very calm' as they watched the landing thanks to Major Peake's boss, who explained in detail what was occurring as it happened.

Yesterday, just a few hours before the 44-year-old former helicopter test pilot was due to depart, his wife, Rebecca, tweeted: 'Keep them safe.'

Major Peake was also tweeting, sharing the most incredible pictures he has taken during his trip, and one of Soyuz, which he described as 'my ride home'.

He also wrote: 'What an incredible journey it has been– thank you for following & see you back on Earth!'

Helen Sharman was the first Briton in space, travelling to Russia's Mir space station in 1991 on a privately backed mission.

Several British-born American citizens flew with NASA's space shuttle program.

But Major Peake is Britain's first publicly funded British astronaut and the first to visit the International Space Station.

He performed the first British space walk and was honored by Queen Elizabeth II in her annual Birthday Honors List for 'extraordinary services beyond our planet'.

Tim Kopra of NASA gives the cameras the thumbs up as he is carried to a medical tent by members of the recovery crew in Kazakhastan

A Russian Mi-8 helicopter is seen before a flight to the landing area of the Soyuz TMA-19M capsule carrying International Space Station (ISS) crew members

Major Tim Peake faced a dangerous six-minute ride through a 'furnace' before crashing to the ground 'like a tonne of bricks'

He broke a world record by joining the 26.2-mile London Marathon from 250 miles above the Earth, harnessed to a treadmill aboard the ISS with a simulation of the route playing on an iPad.

Peake finished the race in 3 hours and 35 minutes, the fastest marathon in orbit, according to Guinness World Records.

The trio spent 186 days in space since their launch in December 2015 and conducted hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science.

For Malenchenko, it was a sixth mission, and he logged up a total of 828 days in space, the second-longest accumulated time after Russian Gennady Padalka.

Tim Kopra, with NASA, has logged up 244 days in space on two flights.

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams along with Russians Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos will now operate the station for three weeks until the arrival of three new crew members.

Today's journey back to Earth was the most dangerous and terrifying part of the mission , covering 67 miles in just six minutes.

The first British astronaut Tim Peake performed a spacewalk (pictured), which he said was an obvious highlight of his time on the International Space Station (ISS)

He also famously broke the world record for the fastest marathon in orbit (pictured) when he ran the London route shown on his iPad

Major Peake, by now a national celebrity, then appeared in an episode of Show Me Show Me on CBeebies filmed on board ISS, alongside the knitted toy character Miss Mouse

During his time, he also presented a Brit award to Adele from space (pictured). The star broke down in tears

In another TV appearance, Major Peake introduced BBC Sport's Six Nations coverage wearing an England rugby shirt, in a message recorded on the ISS

Soon after 3am the crew members scrambled from the ISS into the Soyuz TMA-19M space vehicle that took them into orbit on December 15 last year.

Closing the hatch between the station and the spacecraft at precisely 3.34am marked the official end of ISS Expedition 47 and the Principia mission.

The journey began with a four minute and 37 second rocket motor blast - the 'deorbit burn' - that set his spacecraft on track for re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

At exactly 6.52am, UK time, sprung hooks were released to undock and free the Soyuz, the capsule that took them from the ship to the ground.

An outside camera showed the toy-like spacecraft backing out from the space station with the Earth turning slowly below.

Then as the Soyuz moved further away, assisted by two rocket engine burns, a trick of perspective made it appear as if the astronauts were heading for the moon.

Only the middle section of the tiny craft, the descent module, completed the trip to Earth. Within it, Major Peake and his two colleagues were crammed side-by-side in special shock-absorbing seats.

Earlier Colonel Kopra formally handed over command of the space station to Nasa colleague Jeff Williams as they began their trip back.

The former test pilot's work over six months has earned him an honour from the Queen for 'extraordinary service beyond our planet'

Major Peake's space capsule is due to parachute down to a remote spot on the vast Kazakhastan steppe at around 10.15am UK time

He observed an old navy tradition - despite having an army background - of ringing a bell to mark the change of 'watch'.

Then it was time to say goodbye to fellow crew members Williams, Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin, who have remained on the ISS.

A grinning Major Peake shook hands with his colleagues before passing through the circular hatch.

The first step on the return journey happened shortly before 7am with the command from ground control to release the sprung hooks attaching the Soyuz to the space station.

A 15-second burn from the Soyuz rocket motor took the craft to a safe position relative to the ISS before beginning the no-turning-back descent.

The process of re-entry and landing was automated using data uploaded into the spacecraft's computer, but in an emergency, the crew could 'fly' the Soyuz manually using a hand controller that varies the aerodynamic lift on the capsule.

Before leaving the International Space Station, Tim Peake took a striking series of photographs of planet Earth from space. This shows aurora over northern Canada

This picture, taken by Tim Peake, shows aurora Australls, taken by Tim Peake before heading home

Despite the Space Stations soaring speed of over 17,000mph, the astronaut has managed to snap some extraordinary aerial photos of the Earth

Tim Peake was launched to the International Space Station in December 2015 and his six-month tour is due to come to an end today

Pictures from the International Space Station as it passes through aurora were shared by Tim Peake before he headed home

Many hours of practice are devoted to this, the most perilous part of the journey, during training.

A critical moment was at about 9.20am when the rocket motor fired for four minutes and 45 seconds to put the Soyuz on a trajectory that would take it out of orbit.

If the 'deorbit burn' was too short, the astronauts could have skipped across the atmosphere like a stone skimming a lake and fly out into space.

If it was too long, they could have come in at too steep an angle too fast, and risk being incinerated.

Next, half an hour before landing and at an altitude of 87 miles, explosive bolts fired splitting the Soyuz into three parts.

The descent module containing the crew then turned so that its heat shield was pointing in the direction of re-entry.

The other two sections, the service module containing propellant and control systems, and the spherical orbital module that housed the crew during their launch, were then allowed to plunge into the atmosphere and burn up.

He has taken part in more than 250 experiments, performed a spacewalk, run the London Marathon on a treadmill, and inspired more than a million schoolchildren

The 44-year-old astronaut, pictured, has spent six months in the International Space Station and will take time to readjust to earth

As the descent module shot through the atmosphere, it became enveloped in a ball of glowing plasma - hot, electrically charged particles of gas - which lit up and then blackened the windows.

Friction raised the heat shield's temperature to 1,600C.

One Nasa astronaut, Doug Wheelock, has described a Soyuz descent as being 'like going over Niagara falls in a barrel, but the barrel is on fire'.

Peake will be reunited with his family after 186 days shortly after touching down in Kazakhstan

Gravity will come as a shock to Major Peake and his comrades after six months in weightless conditions.

As the spacecraft slows from 17,398mph to 514mph, the rapid deceleration will push them back into their seats with a force of around 5G - five times normal Earth gravity.

Fifteen minutes before landing, four parachutes deployed in succession. Two pilot chutes unfolded first, followed by a drogue that brought the capsule's speed down to 178mph.

Finally came the main parachute with a surface area of 10,764 square feet. To dissipate heat, it is designed to swing the module at an angle of 30 degrees before shifting it back to a vertical position.

One second before touchdown two clusters of three retro rockets fired and the spacecraft hits the ground at 3mph.

The capsule landed in a remote location on flat steppe scrubland almost 300 miles south-west of the major Kazakh city of Karaganda.

Recovery crews arrived rapidly at the site to help the space travellers out of their capsule and take them for medical checks.

They are being taken by helicopter to Karaganda airport where, according to tradition, they were offered bread and salt and a traditional Kazakh hat.

Major Peake will then be flown to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, while his American and Russian colleagues go their separate ways to Houston and Star City, near Moscow.

The father of two was the first Briton to join the crew of the ISS as a European Space Agency (Esa) astronaut.

His Principia mission was named after Sir Isaac Newton's landmark work describing the laws of gravity and motion.

Its primary purpose was to contribute to scientific knowledge by conducting experiments in zero gravity, but Major Peake did much more than that as he constantly kept in touch with the world by Twitter, took part in video-linked Q&A sessions, and engaged in educational activities that reached more than a million schoolchildren.

Putting Britain on the space-faring map earned him a unique place in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Becoming the first person to be honoured while in space, he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George for 'extraordinary service beyond our planet'.

Speaking from the ISS, Major Peake said his spacewalk, conducted with Colonel Kopra in January to repair electrical components, was the highlight of his mission.

He added that he was looking forward to 'private time' with his family, fresh air and the feeling of raindrops on his face.

During his time in space Major Peake worked up to 14 hours a day, participating in more than 250 experiments devised by scientists from around the world.

Major Peake is likely to have lost 1.5 per cent of his bone mass for every month spent in space and it will take three years to recover

They included numerous studies of his own body's responses to the space environment involving his brain, lungs, stomach, muscles, bones, skin, immune system and body clock.

The tests will continue as he begins a lengthy process of rehabilitation on Earth.

While weakened muscles recover quickly after a long spell in space, it can take up to three years for bones to return to normal.

Despite their strict exercise regime, astronauts on average lose up to 1.5 per cent of their bone mass for each month spent in space.

Major Peake was originally scheduled to return at the beginning of June, but his homecoming was delayed when the launch of the replacement crew was pushed back.

'It's like going over Niagara falls in a barrel - but the barrel is on fire': The dramatic 17,000mph descent facing Tim Peake

Tim Peake will have to endure a hair-raising descent back to Earth today as his craft rapidly decelerates from 17,398mph on its way down.

The British astronaut has said goodbye to the orbiting laboratory that has been his home for the past six months this morning.

One Nasa astronaut, Doug Wheelock, has described the experience of a Soyuz descent as 'like going over Niagara falls in a barrel, but the barrel is on fire'.

British astronaut Tim Peake has said goodbye to the orbiting laboratory that has been his home for the past six months this morning and is not on the SAoyuz (pictured) on his way back down

One Nasa astronaut, Doug Wheelock, has described the experience of a Soyuz descent as 'like going over Niagara falls in a barrel, but the barrel is on fire'

At exactly 6.52am, the spacecraft that will carry Major Peake and his two crew mates back to Earth undocked from the International Space Station (ISS).

Sprung hooks attaching the Soyuz TMA-19M to the space station were released to free the craft which took the three men into orbit on December 15.

An outside camera showed the spacecraft backing away from the space station with the Earth turning slowly below.

Some four hours earlier Major Peake, American Colonel Tim Kopra, and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko had scrambled from the space station into the Soyuz.

Closing the hatch marked the official end of Major Peake's historic mission, which earned him an honour from the Queen for 'extraordinary service beyond our planet'.

Major Peake was the first British astronaut to be sent to the ISS by the European Space Agency (Esa).

Sprung hooks attaching the Soyuz TMA-19M to the space station were released to free the craft (pictured) which took the three men into orbit on December 15

The father-of-two took part in more than 250 experiments, performed a space walk, ran the London Marathon on a treadmill, and inspired more than a million schoolchildren.

The trip home involves a hair-raising plunge through the atmosphere in the tiny middle section of the Soyuz, the descent module.

Friction on the spacecraft's heat shield will slow its speed from 17,398 mph (28,000 kph) to 514 mph (827 kph) and raise the outside temperature to 1,600C.

The rapid deceleration will push the crew back into their shock-absorbing seats with a force of around five gee - five times normal Earth gravity.