The Soyuz MS-19 crew ship bring NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and 2 cosmonauts is visualized moments prior to landing under the clear, blue skies of Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA
Vande Heis prolonged mission will supply researchers the opportunity to observe the results of long-duration spaceflight on humans as the firm prepares to go back to the Moon under the Artemis program and get ready for the expedition of Mars.
Vande Hei released on April 9, 2021, along with Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov. His second journey into area of 355 days is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, previously held at 340 days, and gives him a life time total of 523 days in area. Dubrov also stayed on board for 355 days on his first spaceflight.
Supporting NASAs objectives for future human landings on the Moon, Vande Hei completed around 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 experienced the arrival of 15 going to spacecraft and brand-new modules, and the departure of 14 visiting spacecraft.
Following post-landing medical checks, the team will go back to the healing staging city in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, aboard Russian helicopters. Vande Hei will board a NASA aircraft bound for Cologne, Germany, for refueling prior to his return house. Shkaplerov and Dubrov will board a Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center airplane to return to their home in Star City, Russia.
During his record mission, Vande Hei spent numerous hours on clinical activities aboard the area station, carrying out whatever from plant research to physical sciences research studies.
With the undocking of the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft with Vande Hei, Shkaplerov, and Dubrov aboard, Expedition 67 officially started aboard the station. NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn recently took over as station commander, and is joined by NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov.
Marshburn, Chari, Barron and Maurer will stay onboard until late April, when NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, in addition to ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti launch to the station as part of NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission.
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei is seen outside the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft after he landed with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Vande Hei and Dubrov are returning to Earth after logging 355 days in space as members of Expeditions 64-66 aboard the International Space Station.
After extending the record for the longest single spaceflight in history by an American to 355 days, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, together with Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov.
The trio left the International Space Station at 3:21 a.m. EDT and made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 7:28 a.m. (5:28 p.m. Kazakhstan time) southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.
” Marks objective is not only record-breaking, but also leading the way for future human explorers on the Moon, Mars, and beyond,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our astronauts make extraordinary sacrifices in the name of science, expedition, and innovative technology development, not least among them time away from liked ones. NASA and the country are proud to invite Mark house and grateful for his extraordinary contributions throughout his year-long stay on the International Space Station.”
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei is seen outside the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft after he landed with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Vande Hei and Dubrov are returning to Earth after logging 355 days in area as members of Expeditions 64-66 aboard the International Space Station. For Vande Hei, his objective is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut in history. Vande Hei will board a NASA aircraft bound for Cologne, Germany, for refueling prior to his return home.