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Crew-12 astronauts return to Earth after eight months on the space station

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 9 outlets across the spectrum.

13 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Capsule descending under two parachutes toward the ocean, seen from above, sunlit water.
Image via CBS NewsHow images are chosenReport this image

Four members of the Crew-12 mission returned to Earth on Thursday, October 8, after about eight months aboard the International Space Station. Their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, named Freedom, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean about 50 miles west of Los Angeles at 11:34 a.m. Eastern time, according to CBS News. The crew are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Reports describe a thruster firing to leave orbit, a fiery reentry, and parachutes that slowed the capsule to about 15 mph before splashdown. The mission lasted 237 days in space. According to AP reporting, the replacement crew arrived three weeks late because of capsule repairs, which delayed this crew’s return.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California on Thursday, October 8.

    Reported byLeft4Center1Right1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News, Bloomberg, ABC News, Al Jazeera English
    Center
    PBS NewsHour
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Epoch Times, One America News

  2. The crew are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News
    Center
    PBS NewsHour
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Epoch Times

  3. The crew spent about eight months, or 237 days, in space, most of it aboard the International Space Station.

    Reported byLeft2Center1Right1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News, Bloomberg
    Center
    PBS NewsHour
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Epoch Times, One America News

  4. The capsule fired thrusters to leave orbit, then descended through the atmosphere and deployed parachutes before a splashdown at about 15 mph, according to reports of the descent.

    Reported byLeft1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News
    Right
    New York Post

  5. According to AP reporting, the replacement crew arrived three weeks late because of capsule repairs, delaying this crew’s homecoming.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    PBS NewsHour
    Right
    New York Post

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    4 outlets

    Left-side headlines lead with the splashdown and the crew’s return, mostly in plain wording, but CBS News calls the landing perfect and ABC News features a retired astronaut calling the return impressive.

    Four astronauts return to earth after an eight-month space mission
    Al Jazeera EnglishLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    The only center-side coverage is a PBS NewsHour video headline on an Associated Press report, so this reflects the AP text rather than a center outlet’s own framing: a plain statement that four astronauts returned after eight months aboard the station.

    Four astronauts return to Earth after eight months in space
    France 24CenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    3 outlets

    Right-side headlines are mostly plain: Epoch Times and One America News, both far right, describe the return and a NASA briefing, while the New York Post, rated right, calls the reentry dramatic and says the crew blast back, and it republishes the AP report with its ailing colleague wording.

    NASA’s Crew-12 astronauts return to Earth after 8 months in space
    One America NewsFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right2

    Dramatic momentblast back

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    Dramatic momentMore neutral: Capsule returns

    The phrase adds drama to a routine descent that the headline could describe without characterizing it.

    Dramatic moment SpaceX astronauts blast back to Earth before splashdown off SoCal

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    blast backMore neutral: return

    The verb blast suggests force and speed beyond the descent described in the article.

    Dramatic moment SpaceX astronauts blast back to Earth before splashdown off SoCal

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

4 outlets

Leads with

  • the splashdown and its precision
  • the crew’s return after eight months
  • expert reaction from a retired astronaut
See the 4 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • the eight-month mission
  • the delayed replacement crew caused by capsule repairs
  • the crew’s eagerness to reunite with families
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • France 24Center

    Four astronauts return to Earth after eight months in space

    An astronaut crew that carried out an eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station splashed down as planned Thursday off the coast of California. …

    Read at France 24 (opens in a new tab)
  • PBS NewsHourCenterAssociated Press report

    WATCH: Four astronauts return to Earth after 8 months aboard International Space Station

    NASA's Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France's Sophie Adenot and Russia's Andrey Fedyaev departed the orbiting lab on Wednesday, eager to reunite with their families after a lengthy separation.

    Read at PBS NewsHour (opens in a new tab)

    Also published by New York Post. It counts once.

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

  • the reentry and capsule descent
  • the NASA news conference
  • the 25-year streak of continuous human presence in space
  • the 237 days in space
See the 4 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    CBS News, Oct 8, 12:16 PM EDT

  • Center

    3 hr 26 min later

    Its first report, Oct 8, 3:42 PM EDT

  • Right

    40 min later

    Its first report, Oct 8, 12:56 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. CBS NewsLeftOct 8, 12:16 PM EDT
  2. BloombergLeftOct 8, 12:17 PM EDT
  3. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 8, 12:56 PM EDT
  4. ABC NewsLeftOct 8, 1:01 PM EDT
  5. PBS NewsHourCenterOct 8, 3:42 PM EDT
  6. New York PostRightOct 8, 3:44 PM EDT
  7. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftOct 8, 5:55 PM EDT
  8. One America NewsFar RightOct 8, 8:59 PM EDT
  9. France 24CenterOct 9, 10:43 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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