NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei is returning to Earth this week after setting a brand new document for the longest steady spaceflight by an American.
On March 15, Vande Hei broke the prevailing 340-day document set by Scott Kelly in 2016, and when he leaves the Worldwide Area Station (ISS) within the subsequent few days that document may have prolonged to 355 days, simply 10 wanting a full 12 months.
Forward of ultimate preparations for departure alongside Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, Vande Hei has been talking in regards to the highs and lows of his prolonged mission in a video (under) shared on Twitter.
As @Astro_Sabot prepares to return house, he took time to share the highs and lows of his practically one 12 months in house. pic.twitter.com/O5rdSg3MpV
— Worldwide Area Station (@Space_Station) March 27, 2022
Little doubt much like Earth-based employees in jobs that require shut collaboration with co-workers, Vande Hei mentioned the the best factors throughout his keep aboard the ISS had been “the occasions once I was simply hanging round, often at mealtime with my crewmates and laughing so exhausting we had been in tears about some remark that anyone made.”
As for lows, the astronaut, who’s on his second keep aboard the ISS following a six-month stint that resulted in 2018, mentioned: “Bodily this can be a difficult surroundings to be in. I’ve had a variety of congestion and complications … occasions while you simply really feel very bodily uncomfortable. These are in all probability the low factors, it colours the whole lot you’re doing, it takes much more work to remain in the suitable way of thinking in these conditions.”
Vande Hei suffered a setback in August when a medical subject prevented him from collaborating in a spacewalk. Because of this, the duty was handed to a different astronaut. Whereas Vande Hei was ready to participate in 4 spacewalks throughout his first mission 4 years in the past, this time he stayed contained in the ISS the entire time.
In a latest interview, the astronaut mentioned that after returning house he was planning to “get exterior as a lot as attainable,” including, “I’ve had an indoor job 24/7 for nearly a 12 months so I’m wanting ahead to being exterior it doesn’t matter what type of climate.”
Whereas the NASA astronaut now has the document for the longest steady house mission by an American, the document for the longest steady keep in house stays with Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who lived aboard the Mir house station for 437 days and 18 hours within the mid-Nineties.
NASA might be livestreaming Vande Hei’s return journey this week. Right here’s learn how to watch.
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