Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata is heading back to Earth after a successful stint as captain of the International Space Station.

Koichi Wakata:

“What an exciting time we shared in this increment. Congratulations to the entire team on their remarkable achievements.”

The crew conducted a ceremony to install the new captain, American Steven Swanson.

Wakata is the first Japanese to serve as captain of the research station since it launched in 1998.

The captain commanded the six-member crew for 66 days.

Kibo, an experimental talking robot, will remain onboard for a few more months.

Wakata said farewell to his robot friend.

He will head back to Earth on Tuesday on the Russian spacecraft Soyuz.