NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei is back on Earth after a NASA record-breaking 355 days in space.
Vande Hei’s extended mission aboard the International Space Station ended on Wednesday, March 30, after a parachute-assisted landing in Kazakhstan along with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov. He returned to Houston on March 31.
Arriving at the orbiting laboratory in April of last year, Vande Hei’s stay in low-Earth orbit exceeded the previously held record by 15 days. During his 355 days aboard the station, Vande Hei experienced:
- Approximately 5,680 orbits of Earth
- Approximately 150,619,530 statute miles traveled (equivalent of approximately 312 round trips to the Moon and back)
- Fifteen spacecraft or modules visits to the International Space Station, including three Russian Progress cargo ships, two Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft, three Russian Soyuz, two SpaceX crew Dragons, three SpaceX cargo Dragons, and the two new Russian modules (the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module and the Prichal Node Module)
“Mark’s mission is not only record-breaking, but also paving the way for future human explorers on the Moon, Mars, and beyond,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our astronauts make incredible sacrifices in the name of science, exploration, and cutting-edge technology development, not least among them time away from loved ones. NASA and the nation are proud to welcome Mark home and grateful for his incredible contributions throughout his year-long stay on the International Space Station.”
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