NASA astronaut returns to Earth after record-breaking space flight
Three astronauts - one American and two Russian, safely landed in Kazakhstan on 30 March after departing from the same capsule from the International Space Station, despite the ongoing hostility between the USA and Russia.
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth after extending the record for the longest single spaceflight in history by an American to 355 days, along with Russian astronauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov. The trio departed from the International Space Station at 1:21 PM BST and made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 5:28 PM BST, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.
"Our astronauts make incredible sacrifices in the name of science, exploration, and cutting-edge technology development, not least among them time away from loved ones," said NASA in a press release.
Vande Hei launched on April 9, 2021, alongside Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov. His second journey into space of 355 days is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, previously held at 340 days, and gives him a lifetime total of 523 days in space. Dubrov also remained onboard for 355 days on his first spaceflight. Vande Hei's extended mission will provide researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program and prepare for exploration of Mars.
In order to contribute towards NASA's goals for future human landings on the Moon, Vande Hei completed approximately 5,680 orbits of the Earth and a journey of more than 150 million miles, roughly the equivalent of 312 trips to the Moon and back. He witnessed the arrival of 15 visiting spacecraft and new modules, and the departure of 14 visiting spacecraft.
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