The criterion of having to be in the craft when it touches the earth again came exclusively from the West realizing that Soviet craft would most likely come down onto land because of how large and how far from the oceans the USSR was. Since US craft could come down into the ocean and the astronauts could be easily recovered, they basically got the international aeronautics body to add that little detail in there. Absolute bullshit
The criterion of having to be in the craft when it touches the earth again came exclusively from the West realizing that Soviet craft would most likely come down onto land because of how large and how far from the oceans the USSR was. Since US craft could come down into the ocean and the astronauts could be easily recovered, they basically got the international aeronautics body to add that little detail in there. Absolute bullshit
Sorry but you have to comedown on land for it to count as “landing”, if you comedown on the ocean it is technically diving