Astronaut Maurer on his way back to Earth

German astronaut Matthias Maurer is on his way back to Earth after almost six months in space on the International Space Station, reported dpa.

Maurer, 52, and three US colleagues undocked from the ISS in a Crew Dragon capsule, as seen in live images from the US space agency NASA.

Their capsule is scheduled to land in the ocean off the coast of the US state of Florida on Friday.

If everything goes according to plan, Maurer is expected back in Germany late Friday evening. He is supposed to land at the military part of Cologne/Bonn Airport.

Maurer, who is from Saarland state in western Germany, traveled to the ISS with his three crewmates on November 11 last year. He was the twelfth German in space.