Paolo pulled out from Soyuz capsule

“Once I was pulled out of the Soyuz, I had difficulty keeping my eyes open because I had the Sun right in front of me and I felt it burning my face," said Paolo Nespoli afterwarda about his landing. "That was a welcome feeling and I really savoured it.”

Paolo and crewmates Catherine Coleman and Dmitri Kondratyev landed back on Earth, 24 May 2011, to conclude his 159-day mission to the International Space Station. Paolo had been serving as the flight engineer for Expeditions 26 and 27 since December.