NASA astronaut Frank Rubio has returned to Earth after inadvertently breaking the file for the longest period of time spent in area by an American.
Mr Rubio’s mission, alongside Russian astronauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, was solely purported to final six months.
But the trio ended up spending 371 days in area after the Soyuz capsule that was meant to deliver them house was broken.
Having been on the International Space Station since September 2022, they landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, in a capsule that was despatched as much as them as a alternative for the defective one.
The 47-year-old American, who had by no means left Earth earlier than this mission, informed reporters it was “good to be home”, having admitted that he by no means would have agreed to a full yr in area if requested in the beginning.
He ended up lacking essential household milestones, he mentioned, together with the oldest of his 4 youngsters ending her first yr on the US Naval Academy and one other heading off to affix the US Military Academy.
“Hugging my wife and kids is going to be paramount, and I’ll probably focus on that for the first couple days,” Mr Rubio mentioned forward of his return to Houston.
The astronaut, who can be a military physician and helicopter pilot, beat fellow American Mark Vande Hei’s file for longest time in area by two weeks.
He and his crewmates would have needed to steer clear of Earth for 437 to beat the file set by Russian Valeri Polyakov within the mid-Nineties.
Their plane had a coolant leak in December, however their alternative solely arrived on the area station round two weeks in the past resulting from shortages.
“No one deserves to go home to their families more than you,” the area station’s commander, Andreas Mogensen, informed them forward of their return.
NASA plans to take advantage of the mishap, although, as they acknowledged the extended mission supplies researchers with the chance to “observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans”.
Mr Rubio might not need to spend too lengthy being checked over in NASA’s labs – as he mentioned he appears to be like ahead to the quiet of his yard in contrast with the “constant drone and hum” of equipment whereas aboard the area station.
NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, mentioned: “Frank’s record-breaking time in space is not just a milestone; it’s a major contribution to our understanding of long-duration space missions.
“NASA is immensely grateful for Frank’s devoted service to our nation and the invaluable scientific contributions he made on the International Space Station.
“He embodies the true pioneer spirit that will pave the way for future exploration to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”
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The three astronauts travelled 157 million miles after launching from Kazakhstan final September, circling the world practically 6,000 instances.
During the mission, Rubio spent many hours on scientific actions aboard the area station, conducting a wide range of duties starting from plant analysis to bodily sciences research.
Source: information.sky.com”