NASA astronaut Don Pettit marked his 70th birthday with a return to Earth, becoming one of the oldest Americans to serve in space.
He landed in Kazakhstan on Saturday at around 9:20pm local time. He travelled aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft after leaving the International Space Station (ISS). Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner joined him on the journey.
Pettit spent 220 days on the ISS during this mission. In that time, he orbited Earth 3,520 times. CBS and the BBC report that this makes him the oldest active-duty astronaut from the United States.
John Glenn still holds the record as the oldest person to fly in orbit. He took part in a NASA mission in 1998 at the age of 77.
During his mission, Pettit worked on several science projects. He studied metal 3D printing in space, improved water sanitation technology, explored plant growth under different watering conditions, and examined how fire behaves in microgravity.
This flight was Pettit’s fourth. He previously served as a flight engineer on Expeditions 71 and 72. Over his career, he has spent a total of 590 days in orbit.
NASA officials at the landing site said Pettit is in good health. His condition is within the expected range after returning to Earth.
