Astronauts return to Earth after private space station trip

The 11 International Space Station crew members with, in blue, the Axiom Space 3 crew, Walter Villadei, Alper Gezeravci and Marcus Wandt. Above them hanging upside down in blue is Axiom Space’s Michael Lopez-Alegria (Nasa via AP)

Astronauts from Turkey, Italy and Sweden returned to Earth on Friday, ending a private three-week mission to the International Space Station.

The trio were accompanied by a retired Nasa astronaut who now works for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the chartered flight.