Overview

• Don Pettit, NASA's oldest active astronaut, returned to Earth alongside Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner after a seven-month mission aboard the ISS.
• The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft landed southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 9:20 p.m. EDT on April 19, coinciding with Pettit’s 70th birthday.
• During the mission, the crew conducted pivotal research on in-orbit 3D metal printing, water sanitization, plant growth, and fire behavior in microgravity.
• Pettit has now logged 590 cumulative days in orbit across four missions, while Ovchinin and Vagner have reached 595 and 416 days, respectively.
• Following routine recovery protocols, Pettit is en route to Houston for rehabilitation, while Ovchinin and Vagner return to Star City, Russia.