⁍ Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley splashed down in the capsule in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday after a two-month voyage.

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⁍ The successful splashdown, the first of its kind by NASA in 45 years, was a final key test of whether Elon Musk’s spacecraft can transport astronauts to and from orbit.

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– Two American astronauts are back on US soil for the first time since the space shuttle program was retired in 2011. NASA’s Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, landed in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday after a two-month mission at the International Space Station, reports Reuters. The successful splashdown was the first of its kind by NASA in 45 years, and was a final test of Elon Musk’s spacecraft’s ability to transport astronauts to and from orbit. “Thanks for doing the most difficult parts and the most important parts of human spaceflight—getting us into orbit and bringing us home,” Behnken said as the hatch door was opened, per the AP. “I’m just proud to be a small part of this whole effort to get a company and people to and from the space station.” The Crew Dragon, a pod with seven astronaut seats, was in a “very healthy” condition when it arrived at the space station, where astronauts conducted tests and monitored how the spacecraft performs in space. NASA, aiming to galvanize a commercial space marketplace, awarded nearly $8 billion to SpaceX and Boeing Co collectively in 2014 to develop dueling space capsules, experimenting with a contract model that allows the space agency to buy astronaut seats from the two companies. “Great to have NASA Astronauts return to Earth after very successful two month mission,’ President Trump tweeted. “Thank you to all!”