An American astronaut, aged 70, and two Russian cosmonauts returned to earth, Sunday April 20, after seven months spent in the international space station. A special day for Donald Pettit who celebrates his birthday today.
Seven months after joining the ISS, the American astronaut Donald Pettit and the Russian cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinine and Ivan Wagner found the earth, Sunday April 20, reports TF1 Info. A nice birthday present for the oldest astronaut in NASA which celebrates its 70th anniversary today. Leaving aboard the Soyuz MS-26 vessel, the three men landed in a Kazakhstan steppe.safely”.
A historic event for Donald Pettit which is one of the older astronauts to have gone to space. The record being held by John Glenn, who was 77 years old in 1998. An age that makes it more difficult to return to dry land. According to CBS, he appeared disoriented, his head drooping and his eyes closed, at the exit of the device. The American space agency, however, said it “well“Now and”is located in the range of what is expected of him after his return to earth“.
-During their mission, started on September 11, 2024, the trio carried out “3,520 orbits around the earth, traveling a journey of 150.4 million kilometers“, Specifies NASA.
Almost 600 days in orbit
To replace them, the Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryjikov and Alexei Zoubitskiy, as well as the astronaut of Nasa Jonny Kim, joined the station to lead 50 scientific experiments in space, according to Roscosmos.
It was the fourth flight of the American astronaut, which spent a total of 590 days in orbit throughout his career. Alexei Ovchinine totaled 595 days, this one being also his fourth flight, while for Ivan Wagner, who spent a total of 416 days in space, it was his second flight.
