(AGENPARL) – mer 27 settembre 2023 September 27, 2023 
RELEASE 23-108
*Record-Setting NASA Astronaut, Crewmates Return from Space Mission*
*/Credits: NASA TV/*
After spending an American record-breaking 371 days in space, NASA astronaut
Frank Rubio safely landed on Earth with his crewmates Wednesday.
Rubio departed the International Space Station, along with Roscosmos
cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, at 3:54 a.m. EDT, and made a
safe, parachute-assisted landing at 7:17 a.m. (5:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time),
southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.
“Frank’s record-breaking time in space is not just a milestone; it’s a
major contribution to our understanding of long-duration space missions,”
said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our astronauts make extraordinary
sacrifices away from their homes and loved ones to further discovery. NASA is
immensely grateful for Frank’s dedicated service to our nation and the
invaluable scientific contributions he made on the International Space
Station. He embodies the true pioneer spirit that will pave the way for
future exploration to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”
Rubio launched [1] on his first spaceflight on Sept. 21, 2022, alongside
Prokopyev and Petelin. Rubio’s spaceflight is the longest single
spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, breaking the record previously held at 355
days by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei.
During his mission, Rubio completed approximately 5,936 orbits and a journey
of more than 157 million miles, roughly the equivalent of 328 trips to the
Moon and back. He witnessed the arrival of 15 visiting spacecraft and the
departure of 14 visiting spacecraft representing crewed and uncrewed cargo
missions.
Rubio’s extended mission provides researchers the opportunity to observe
the effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans as the agency plans to
return to the Moon through the Artemis missions [2] and prepare for
exploration of Mars.
Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin launched aboard the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft but,
due to a coolant leak [3], returned to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23. The
affected Soyuz MS-22 capsule returned without its crew after the Soyuz MS-23
capsule launched [4] as a replacement on Feb. 23, 2023.
Following post-landing medical checks, the crew will return to Karaganda,
Kazakhstan. Rubio will then board a NASA plane bound for his return to
Houston.
During his record-breaking mission, Rubio spent many hours on scientific
activities aboard the space station [5], conducting a variety of tasks
ranging from plant research to physical sciences studies.
With the undocking of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, Expedition 70 officially
began aboard the station. NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara [6] and Jasmin
Moghbeli [7] remain aboard the orbital outpost alongside ESA (European Space
Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who became station commander Sept. 26,
JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and
Roscosmos cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub.
Mogensen, Moghbeli, Furukawa, and Borisov will return to Earth in February
2024, after a short handover with the crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission
[8]. O’Hara is scheduled to return to Earth in March 2024, while Kononenko
and Chub will spend a year aboard the station, returning in September 2024.
Learn more about space station activities by following @space_station [9],