A Soyuz reentry vehicle with three members of the International Space Station (ISS) crew undocked from the station’s Rassvet module on Sunday in preparation for return to Earth, mission control said.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Don Pettit and European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers have spent more than six months in orbit.

The Soyuz TMA-03M carrying the trio is expected to land at 08:14 GMT in Kazakhstan.

Three other ISS crew members - Russia’s Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin and NASA astronaut Joe Acaba - will remain in orbit.

NASA astronaut Suni Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide are expected to arrive at the ISS on July 15 on board a Soyuz TMA-05M spaceship to replace the outgoing crew.