Record-setting NASA astronaut returns from space station with Russian crewmates

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei is carried to a medical tent shortly after landing in an area southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, March 30, 2022. After extending the record for the longest single spaceflight in history by an American to 355 days, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on Wednesday with two Russian crewmates. Vande Hei departed the International Space Station along with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov at 3:21 a.m. Eastern Day Time (EDT), and made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 7:28 a.m. EDT southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, according to NASA. (NASA/Bill Ingalls/Handout via Xinhua)

LOS ANGELES, March 30 (Xinhua) -- After extending the record for the longest single spaceflight in history by an American to 355 days, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on Wednesday with two Russian crewmates.

Vande Hei departed the International Space Station along with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov at 3:21 a.m. Eastern Day Time (EDT), and made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 7:28 a.m. EDT southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, according to NASA.

"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.

Vande Hei's extended mission will provide researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program and prepare for exploration of Mars, according to NASA.

Vande Hei and the two Russian cosmonauts launched on the Soyuz MS-18 rocket on April 9, 2021. Vande Hei's second journey into space of 355 days is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, previously held at 340 days, according to NASA. 

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei gestures outside the Soyuz MS-19 manned spacecraft after landing in an area southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, March 30, 2022. After extending the record for the longest single spaceflight in history by an American to 355 days, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on Wednesday with two Russian crewmates. Vande Hei departed the International Space Station along with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov at 3:21 a.m. Eastern Day Time (EDT), and made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 7:28 a.m. EDT southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, according to NASA. (NASA/Bill Ingalls/Handout via Xinhua)

The Soyuz MS-19 manned spacecraft is pictured landing in an area southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, March 30, 2022. After extending the record for the longest single spaceflight in history by an American to 355 days, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on Wednesday with two Russian crewmates. Vande Hei departed the International Space Station along with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov at 3:21 a.m. Eastern Day Time (EDT), and made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 7:28 a.m. EDT southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, according to NASA. (NASA/Bill Ingalls/Handout via Xinhua)

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei (L) poses with Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov (R) and Anton Shkaplerov inside their Soyuz MS-19 manned spacecraft after it landed in an area southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, March 30, 2022. After extending the record for the longest single spaceflight in history by an American to 355 days, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on Wednesday with two Russian crewmates. Vande Hei departed the International Space Station along with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov at 3:21 a.m. Eastern Day Time (EDT), and made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 7:28 a.m. EDT southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, according to NASA. (NASA/Bill Ingalls/Handout via Xinhua)