The glow from Crew-3's Crew Dragon high in the Earth's atmosphere, as the astronauts came back to Earth May 6, 2022.

SpaceX's Crew-3 Dragon Endurance space capsule streaks through the atmosphere to return four astronauts to Earth on May 6, 2022 off the coast of Florida. (Image credit: SpaceX)

That is not a shooting star; it is a spaceship.

The crew of the International Space Station took pictures of their return to Earth early Friday.

The streaking spaceship was captured by NASA and SpaceX in the minutes before it splashed down in the ocean. 179 days after their mission began.

The photos show a vehicle moving fast through the atmosphere with four people on board, including a NASA engineer and a European Space Agency engineer.

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The Dragon capsule was captured by a NASA photographer.

SpaceX Crew-3 Dragon spacecraft streaking back to Earth on May 6, 2022.

Crew-3's streaking spacecraft was captured high in the atmosphere by NASA, before it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico May 6, 2022. (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

The capsule plunges through the atmosphere in the early hours of Friday.

There is a wider view of the Crew-3 Dragon with the lights of recovery ships visible at the bottom of the image.

A wide-field view of Crew-3's returning spacecraft against the horizon, just prior to splashdown on May 6, 2022.

A wide-field view of Crew-3's returning spacecraft against the horizon, just prior to splashdown on May 6, 2022. (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

People who got up early or stayed late to watch the show got some social media shares.

Dragon capsule Endurance re-entry seen from southeast Mexico (Villahermosa, Tabasco) #SpaceX #Dragon #ISS #NASA #Space pic.twitter.com/eLYiW289XVMay 6, 2022

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Standing on the shores of Clearwater Beach, I watched as Crew Dragon and its crew of four streaked across the night sky during their journey home. Time to head back to the Space Coast for a launch 🚀 #Crew3 @SpaceX @NASA pic.twitter.com/b1KiuoC9YZMay 6, 2022

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In the minutes after splashdown, the four astronauts gave an enthusiastic "Hello" to Earth.

From left to right, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, and NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, greet recovery officials shortly after the Crew-3 splashdown on May 6, 2022.

From left to right, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, and NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, greet recovery officials shortly after the Crew-3 splashdown on May 6, 2022. (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

The astronauts should be able to get back to their normal activities in a few weeks, since it typically takes about a day of time on our planet to fully recover from each day in space.

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European Space AgencyDragon Endurance spaceAubrey GemignaniEndurance space capsule
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