America’s oldest serving astronaut has touched down on Earth on his seventieth birthday.
NASA astronaut Donald Pettit and two Russian cosmonauts had been on a seven-month mission to the Worldwide Area Station (ISS).
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying Mr Pettit and Russians Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday.
“Its deorbiting and descent to Earth had been regular,” Russia’s Roscosmos house company stated.
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft returning to Earth. Pic: AP
The crew’s seven-month science mission began on 11 September 2024. They orbited the Earth 3,520 occasions over 220 days in house.
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The spacecraft lands in Kazakhstan. Pic: AP
Mr Pettit had been conducting analysis to boost in-orbit steel 3D printing capabilities, advance water sanitisation applied sciences, discover plant progress underneath various water situations and examine hearth behaviour in microgravity, in line with NASA.
It was the fourth time in house for Mr Pettit and Mr Ovchinin, whereas it was Mr Vagner’s second spaceflight.