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Veteran NASA astronaut Don Pettit marked his 70th birthday with a unique homecoming, landing back on Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) on the very day of his milestone age. The experienced astronaut concluded his latest mission aboard the ISS, returning with Russian cosmonauts on the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft, highlighting the international collaboration in space exploration and marking a memorable personal and professional moment.
Astronaut Don Pettit Returns to Earth on 70th Birthday After ISS Mission
Don Pettit, NASA’s most seasoned active astronaut, redefined the concept of a birthday “homecoming” by touching down from the International Space Station (ISS) on his 70th birthday.
Pettit landed on Saturday, April 19th, alongside his Soyuz MS-26 crew members, Aleksey Ovchinin, 53, and Ivan Vagner, 39. The American astronaut and his two Russian counterparts reached the ground in Kazakhstan at 9:20 p.m. EDT (0120 GMT or 6:20 a.m. local time April 20th), completing a seven-month mission after launching in the same spacecraft.
Born on April 20, 1955, in Silverton, Oregon, Pettit expressed that the sensation of “home” is relative to one’s experiences and location.
Reflections on Home from Space
“Having resided on the space station for seven months, our return journey aboard the Soyuz spacecraft culminates with a landing on the Kazakhstan steppes. As our capsule impacts the desert plains, I will be geographically on the opposite side of the globe, almost 12,000 miles from my usual home. Yet, in a profound sense, I will be home,” Pettit conveyed in a message from space on Friday, April 18th.
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He further elaborated, “I can envision a future scenario where a crew returning from Mars, after achieving low Earth orbit, will gaze upon our blue planet below and declare, ‘I am home.'”
While Pettit’s expedition was not as extensive or far-reaching as a voyage to Mars, his “science of opportunity” demonstrations and captivating images of Earth and cosmic phenomena resonated deeply with many.
NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, from Expedition 73, shared on social media platform X on Saturday, “Saying farewell to Don Pettit today. It’s a bittersweet moment, acknowledging his remarkable mission and the inspiration he provided to countless individuals during his time in space.”
Soyuz MS-26 Undocking and Landing Details
The journey back to Earth for Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner commenced at 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 GMT) on Saturday as the Russian Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft detached from the Rassvet module of the International Space Station. Approximately two and a half hours later, the spacecraft executed a deorbit burn and jettisoned its orbital and propulsion modules, leaving the gumdrop-shaped descent module to transport the crew safely back to solid ground.
Remaining in orbit are astronauts Ayers, Anne McClain, Jonny Kim of NASA; Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), the Expedition 73 commander; and Roscosmos cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Alexey Zubritsky.
Upon landing, the Soyuz MS-26 crew was received by Russian recovery teams and NASA medical personnel. They underwent initial health evaluations before being airlifted to Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Pettit will then travel via NASA aircraft to Houston, while Ovchinin and Vagner will proceed to Star City, Russia, for post-mission activities.
Science and Missions During Expedition 71/72
Beyond his personalized science demonstrations — including utilizing a zero-gravity cup he invented on a prior station visit and photographing thin ice wafers with polarized filters — Pettit contributed to numerous experiments and technological assessments during his tenure as an Expedition 71/72 crew member.
Pettit also played a role in overseeing the departure of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission on the Dragon spacecraft “Freedom,” the arrival of Crew-10 on Dragon “Endurance,” and the departure of the Cygnus cargo vessel “S.S. Francis R. ‘Dick’ Scobee.”
Cosmonaut Activities and Mission Statistics
Ovchinin and Vagner also engaged in scientific investigations and performed a 7-hour, 17-minute spacewalk to install an X-ray spectrometer on the Zvezda service module’s exterior. They were present for the arrival of the Soyuz MS-28 crew and Progress MS-29 and MS-30 cargo vehicles, and the departures of Progress MS-27 and MS-28.
This mission marked Pettit’s and Ovchinin’s fourth space voyages and Vagner’s second. Following Saturday’s landing, Pettit’s cumulative spaceflight time reached 590 days, Ovchinin’s 595 days, and Vagner’s 416 days in orbit.
Soyuz MS-26 represented Russia’s 72nd Soyuz launch to the International Space Station since 2000 and the 155th since 1967. During its 220 days in space, it journeyed 93.3 million miles (150.2 million km), orbiting Earth 3,520 times.