After a five-month stint aboard the International Space Station that made him a global star, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has safely returned to Earth.

The Russian Soyuz capsule carrying Hadfield, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn successfully landed in Kazakhstan at 10:31 p.m. ET.

The same trio blasted off into space back in December. Hadfield was the last one to be removed from the capsule upon landing. He smiled and gave a thumbs-up as medical staff checked his vital signs and wiped debris off his hands.

All three astronauts will be checked out in a medical tent set up near the landing site.

They will then be treated to a traditional Kazakh welcoming ceremony before they go their separate ways.

Hadfield and Marshburn will board a NASA aircraft to Houston, Texas, where they will be reunited with their family and friends.

Romanenko will head back to Star City, Russia, his home base.

Over the past five months, Hadfield has helped conduct more than 100 science experiments, shared stunning photos of the Earth with a growing legion of Twitter followers and even recorded music in space. In one of his final acts aboard the ISS, his version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity -- posted online Sunday -- garnered nearly 1.9 million hits on YouTube by Monday afternoon.

In March, Hadfield made history as the first Canadian commander of the ISS. He put his intensive training for the mission to use on the weekend when he oversaw an emergency spacewalk to repair an ammonia leak. Astronauts Marshburn and Chris Cassidy successfully replaced a leaking pump in just three hours on Saturday.

No matter what was going on aboard the ISS, Hadfield tweeted regular updates and photos. He also chatted with school children and dignitaries via video link on several occasions.

Hadfield’s prolific use of social media throughout the mission garnered him more than 850,000 Twitter followers and accolades from all over the world for sharing his experiences and knowledge.

In welcoming Hadfield back to Earth, Prime Minister Stephen Harper praised his “highly effective use of social media” to excite the world about science and space.

“It is with immense pride today that Canada welcomes our very own space pioneer Chris Hadfield back to earth,” Harper said in a statement.

“Chris has done an absolutely remarkable job as the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station.”

Monday night’s landing marks the end of Hadfield’s third space mission.

Gilles Leclerc, the interim head of the Canadian Space Agency, has said there probably won't be another Canadian visit to the space station before 2016.

One of Canada's two new astronauts, David Saint-Jacques and Jeremy Hansen, will be the next to blast off.

With files from The Canadian Press