Closing the hatch between the station and the Soyuz spacecraft at precisely 3.34am marked the official end of the mission.
British astronaut Tim Peake has left the International Space Station, ending his historic six-month mission.
Soon after 3am UK time, Major Peake scrambled from the ISS into the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft that took him into orbit on December 15.
Closing the hatch between the station and the spacecraft at precisely 3.34am marked the official end of ISS Expedition 47 and Major Peake's Principia mission.
In a few hours, the 44-year-old will be back on Earth preparing to be reunited with his family.
Major Peake's space capsule is due to parachute down to a remote spot on the vast Kazakhastan steppe at around 10.15am UK time.
But first he faces a scorching rollercoaster ride through the atmosphere along with his crewmates, American Nasa astronaut Colonel Tim Kopra and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko.
Only the middle section of the tiny craft, the descent module, will complete the trip to Earth.
Within it, Major Peake and his two colleagues are crammed side-by-side in special shock-absorbing seats.
During the last six months, the 44-year-old has taken part in more than 250 experiments, performed a spacewalk, run the London Marathon on a treadmill.
The former helicopter test pilot also inspired more than a million schoolchildren and earned an honour from the Queen for "extraordinary service beyond our planet".
