International Space Station's 'one year crew' returns to Earth

US astronaut Scott Kelly broke the record for the longest single stay in space by a US astronaut after 340 days on the International Space Station.-AFP

Dzhezkazgan (Kazakhstan) (AFP) - US astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko returned to Earth Wednesday after spending almost a year in space in a ground-breaking experiment foreshadowing a potential manned mission to Mars.

"We have landing," Russian Mission Control confirmed after the trio touched down southeast of the settlement of Dzhezkazgan in central Kazakhstan at 0427 GMT.