UNITED STATES: After an astonishing 371 days in the cosmos, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, made a triumphant return to Earth.
Their safe landing marked a historic moment in space exploration, surpassing previous American records and paving the way for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
On Wednesday, at precisely 3:54 a.m. EDT, the trio of spacefarers bade farewell to the International Space Station (ISS), concluding an unforgettable chapter in their careers.
A mere three hours later, at 7:17 a.m. (5:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time), they executed a picture-perfect parachute-assisted landing, touching down southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson lauded Rubio’s unparalleled accomplishment, calling it not just a milestone but a groundbreaking contribution to the understanding of extended space missions.
Nelson emphasized the sacrifices made by astronauts, highlighting their unwavering dedication to advancing scientific discovery. Rubio, in particular, embodied the pioneering spirit that will guide humanity’s future explorations of the cosmos.
Rubio embarked on this remarkable journey on September 21, 2022, alongside Prokopyev and Petelin. His mission broke the previous record of 355 days held by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei as the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut.
Over the course of his mission, Rubio completed approximately 5,936 orbits around Earth, covering a staggering distance of more than 157 million miles.
To put this in perspective, it’s equivalent to making 328 roundtrips to the Moon and back. During his time on the ISS, Rubio witnessed the arrival and departure of 15 visiting spacecraft, representing both crewed and uncrewed cargo missions.
Rubio’s extended stay in space provides invaluable data for researchers studying the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body. This information is critical as NASA gears up for the ambitious Artemis missions to return to the Moon and prepares for future missions to Mars.
An interesting twist in Rubio’s mission was the return journey. While they launched aboard the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, a coolant leak prompted their return to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23. The Soyuz MS-22 capsule returned empty after the Soyuz MS-23 capsule was launched as a replacement on February 23, 2023.
Following post-landing medical evaluations, Rubio and his crewmates will make their way back to Karaganda, Kazakhstan. From there, Rubio will board a NASA plane destined for his return to Houston.
Rubio’s record-breaking mission was not just about endurance but also science. He spent countless hours conducting scientific experiments aboard the ISS, contributing to a wide array of research fields, including plant biology and physical sciences.
With the undocking of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, Expedition 70 officially began aboard the ISS. The remaining crew members, including NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub, are set to continue their work in Earth’s orbit.
Mogensen recently assumed command of the station on September 26, marking a significant moment in the mission’s timeline. Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Borisov are slated to return to Earth in February 2024 after a brief handover with the crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission.
O’Hara is scheduled to return in March 2024, while Kononenko and Chub will extend their stay aboard the ISS, returning in September 2024.
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