'Spaceflight finale: To some this may look like a sunset. But it's a new dawn.' (Photo: Commander Chris Hadfield/NASA)

After spending five months in space, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield returned to Earth southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan on Monday night.

Hadfield, 53, an engineer and former test pilot from Milton, Ontario, was Canada's first astronaut to live aboard the space station and became the first Canadian in charge of a spacecraft. He relinquished command of the space station Sunday.

"It's just been an extremely fulfilling and amazing experience end to end," Hadfield told Mission Control on Monday. "From this Canadian to all the rest of them, I offer an enormous debt of thanks." He was referring to all those in the Canadian Space Agency who helped make his flight possible.

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During his time orbiting Earth, Hadfield maintained a connection with humanity through , often sending pictures of Earth and space via social media. says the photos became so popular that many of them were retweeted thousands of times, and Hadfield's online followers more than tripled during his time in flight.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Astronauts Return to Earth

The Russian Soyuz space capsule, carrying U.S. astronaut Thomas Marshburn, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, descends some 94 miles southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan in central Kazakhstan, Tuesday, May 14, 2013. (AP Photo/ Sergei Remezov, Pool)