After a US record 355 days aboard the International Space Station, a NASA astronaut boarded a Russian spacecraft on Wednesday and returned to Earth with two cosmonauts to a planet torn apart by conflict. Mark Vande Hei, who spent the previous year in space, and Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian space agency arrived in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz capsule.
After the impact, the wind knocked the capsule on its side and the trio left the late afternoon light one by one. As he was taken to a lounger in the wide Kazakh steppes, Vande Hei smiled and waved, the last one out. “It’s beautiful here,” Vande Hei added, donning a face mask and ball cap.
Despite the escalating conflict between the United States and Russia over Vladimir Putin’s conflict in Ukraine, Vande Hei’s return went according to protocol.
According to the reports, a small NASA team of medics and other personnel was on hand for the landing, and the 55-year-old astronaut planned to return to Houston immediately after. Vande Hei stated that he avoided the subject with his two Russian crew members even before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Welcome back, Marc! #Russia brought a #U.S astronaut back to earth👍 . Really good news. This is the RIGHT WAY people want to see. Look forward to more good news. pic.twitter.com/YAJPleQM6v
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) March 31, 2022
#Last Glad to know that #Russia brought a #U.S astronaut back to earth👍This is the right approach to a shared and inclusive community. pic.twitter.com/xplQJt6SwH
— Zhang Meifang张美芳 (@CGMeifangZhang) March 31, 2022
Russia gave an American astronaut a ride back to Earth after spending 355 days in space. They could have left him there. They didn’t. Meanwhile, the US is kicking out Russian artists, conductors and students. Says a lot about America.
— Mike Norman (@mikenorman) March 30, 2022
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Especially after he got along “phenomenally,” he continued, “I’m not sure we really want to go there.” It was Vande Hei and Dubrov’s first sense of gravity since their launch of the Soyuz on April 9 last year. In October, Shkaplerov joined them in the job lab, where he accompanied a Russian film team for a short visit. Vande Hei and Dubrov extended their stay to accommodate that visit.
European satellite launches on Russian missiles have been halted and the Europe-Russia Mars rover will be stuck on Earth for the next two years due to the war tensions. Vande Hei set a new record for longest spaceflight at 15 days, beating NASA’s previous record. Dubrov broke into Russia’s top five, but fell short of the world record of 437 days and 17 hours set by a cosmonaut doctor aboard the Mir space station in the 1990s.
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Three Russians arrived two weeks ago, as well as three Americans and a German who had been on board since November. SpaceX will deliver their replacements within three weeks. Next week, the private Axiom Space will transport three wealthy businessmen and their ex-astronaut escort to the station for a week-long stay.