Daijiworld Media Network - Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, Apr 20: NASA astronaut Don Pettit celebrated his 70th birthday in an extraordinary way, marking the milestone while safely returning to Earth after 220 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Pettit, alongside Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday, April 20, aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft.

During their mission, the trio orbited the Earth 3,520 times, completing an impressive journey of 93.3 million miles. This marked Pettit’s fourth spaceflight, and over his 29-year career, he has accumulated over 18 months in space.

The Soyuz capsule touched down in a remote region southeast of Dzhezkazgan at 6:20 am local time (0120 GMT), just three hours after undocking from the space station. NASA’s images of the landing showed the small capsule descending with the sunrise in the background, while the astronauts were seen giving thumbs-up gestures as rescue teams carried them to medical tents.

Despite appearing slightly disoriented after the long journey, Pettit was reported to be "doing well and in the expected range following his return to Earth," according to NASA. He is now en route to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, before boarding a NASA plane to return to the Johnson Space Center in Texas.

The astronauts spent their time on the ISS conducting vital research, including studies on water sanitization, plant growth in space, and fire behavior in microgravity. The mission was just short of the nine-month stint endured by astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who had faced extended stays on the ISS due to spacecraft issues.