Four astronauts returned to Earth on Thursday after a nearly eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station, following a quick flight to replace a crew that returned early due to illness.

SpaceX brought back American astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, Frenchwoman Sophie Adino and Russian Andrei Fedayev, with a water landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles after they left the station on Wednesday.

The crew's return was delayed by three weeks due to repair work on the capsule carrying the replacements. The four astronauts set out last February to replace a crew brought back to Earth early after NASA astronaut Mike Finke fell ill, in the agency's first medical evacuation in 65 years of manned spaceflight.

Seven astronauts representing the United States, Russia and Canada remain aboard the International Space Station, while the station has received 298 visitors from 26 countries since it opened in 2000, according to NASA statistics.