A Dragon cargo ship owned by Space Exploration Technologies ended a 28-day stay at the International Space Station on Sunday, parachuting into the Pacific Ocean.
The capsule returned with more than 3,500 pounds (1,580 kg) of science samples for analysis on Earth, along with equipment no longer needed aboard the space station and spacesuit components in need of refurbishment.
Dragon arrived at the space station on April 20 with a delivery of food, supplies and science experiments for the crew, legs for an experimental humanoid robot on the station and a new high-definition video camera.
The mission marked the third of 12 under SpaceX's $1.6 billion contract with NASA for space station cargo runs.