NASA's Oldest Astronaut Celebrates Its 70th Birthday By Landing On Earth

JAKARTA After seven months of work on the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronaut Don Pettit finally returned to Earth. Pettit landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday, April 20 local time.

The oldest astronaut in the US space agency landed with two Roscosmos Cosmonauts, Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The three astronauts left the ISS using the Russian-owned Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft.

This landing is an important moment because Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner have survived seven months in orbit. However, another important thing in the Soyuz MS-26 landing was Pettit's 70th birthday when landing on Earth.

Pettit is now officially the oldest astronaut at NASA. Even though he is old enough, Pettit is able to survive in outer space. The astronaut also managed to complete various science research and technological demonstrations to increase human insight.

Pettit and two of his colleagues were launched to the ISS on September 11, 2024. They have passed 220 days in space and orbited 3,520 times while conducting research to increase the 3D printing capability of metals in orbit.

In addition, they are also conducting research on water sanitation technologies, exploring plant growth under various water conditions, investigating fire behavior in microgravity, and conducting unique experiments that are not related to the main tasks.

"(Pettit and colleagues) also use the environment at the station to conduct unique experiments in their spare time and captivate the public with their photography," NASA said.

After returning to Earth, the three astronauts are now undergoing medical examination. Pettit's condition was confirmed well so he returned to the Johnson Space Center by plane. Meanwhile, two Roscosmos cosmonauts returned to the recovery area in Karaganda, Kazakhstan.