NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov are due to return to Earth from space on Wednesday, March 30. Two of them spent almost 355 days in the International Space Station (ISS) for a long-duration mission that broke previous records.
After their return, the next mission to the orbiting science laboratory will be the first private mission called Axiom Space-1 (Ax-1). The teams working behind them are looking at launching them to the ISS next week.
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei rests in a chair after landing in a remote area outside the town of Dzhezkazgan (Zhezkazgan), Kazakhstan, on February 28, 2018.
Breaking World Records
Vande Hei and Dubrov both spent 355 days on the orbiting science laboratory after blasting off to space on April 5, 2021, MailOnline reported. Vande Hei has officially broken former astronaut Scott Kelly's record of 340 days in space in 2016. Now, Vande Hei holds the record for the "longest single spaceflight by an American astronaut."
The mission was Vande Hei's second trip to the ISS after spending 168 days from September 2017 to February 2018. His total number of days in the space station now totals 523 days. Meanwhile, the mission is Dubrov's first flight, while this is Shkaplerov's fourth mission and completing 708 cumulative days spent in space.
Vande Hei and Dubrov are scheduled to return from space to Earth on Wednesday with Shkaplerov, who was launched on a Soyuz MS-19 on October 5, 2021. Shkaplerov is set to hand over the command of the ISS to NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn during the change of command ceremony.
When, and Where to Watch the Landing
Forbes reported that the landing will take place at 7:28 AM EDT (5:28 PM in Kazakhstan time) on March 30, 2022. But anyone who wants to see the full preparations, including farewells and undocking, and the deorbiting and landing of their spacecraft, may start to tune in at 11:30 PM on March 29.
Their full trip will be shown live on NASA TV via their website, YouTube official account, and the NASA app. The trio will be riding the Soyuz MS-19 capsule back to Earth and land on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the Dzhezkazgan town.
As the trio undocks from the ISS, Expedition 67 will formally begin as they board the space station. Upon landing, the trio will split up, with Vande Hei returning to his home in Houston and two cosmonauts will fly back to their training base in Star City, Russia.
Ax-1 Mission Launching Next Week
According to NASA, the next mission to the ISS will be the Ax-1 mission which will carry former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and three US crew members. It will be Lopez-Alegria's fifth visit to the ISS and his first time commanding the first private mission from Axiom Space.
NASA, Axiom, and SpaceX are working hand-in-hand to make the Ax-1 mission a success that will likely launch no earlier than April 6, although this schedule is still pending range approval. Meanwhile, SpaceX Crew-4 remains scheduled to launch on April 19.
These forthcoming space launchings are proof that scientific explorations do not stop, especially in the space station, where experiments are always ongoing.
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