NASA's Don Pettit Returns from ISS on 70th Birthday

NASA's oldest active astronaut, Don Pettit, returned to Earth on his 70th birthday after completing a 220-day mission aboard the International Space Station, accompanied by Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The Soyuz MS-26 capsule made a parachute-assisted landing in Kazakhstan, concluding a journey that included 3,520 Earth orbits and covered 93.3 million miles. This marked Pettit's fourth spaceflight, bringing his career total to 590 days in orbit. Upon landing, the crew underwent initial medical checks before Pettit departed for Houston and his crewmates returned to Russia. Pettit is recognized for his scientific contributions, including inventing the first object patented in space and his notable astrophotography. His milestone mission was widely acknowledged for inspiring others and advancing space science.