Latest news with #Expedition72
Kuwait Times
21-05-2025
- Science
- Kuwait Times
NASA's oldest active astronaut returns to Earth on 70th birthday
This hanodut picture courtesy of NASA shows the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 72 NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner aboard.--AFP photos Cake, gifts and a low-key family celebration may be how many senior citizens picture their 70th birthday. But NASA's oldest serving astronaut Don Pettit became a septuagenarian while hurtling towards the Earth in a spacecraft to wrap up a seven-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). A Soyuz capsule carrying the American and two Russian cosmonauts landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday, the day of Pettit's milestone birthday. 'Today at 0420 Moscow time (0120 GMT), the Soyuz MS-26 landing craft with Alexei Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner and Donald (Don) Pettit aboard landed near the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan,' Russia's space agency Roscosmos said. Spending 220 days in space, Pettit and his crewmates Ovchinin and Vagner orbited the Earth 3,520 times and completed a journey of 93.3 million miles over the course of their mission. This hanodut picture shows Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan Vagner (center) being carried to a medical tent shortly after he, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner landed in their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. This hanodut picture shows the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan. This hanodut picture courtesy of NASA shows Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (center) outside the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft after he landed with NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin. It was the fourth spaceflight for Pettit, who has logged more than 18 months in orbit throughout his 29-year career. The trio touched down in a remote area southeast of Kazakhstan after undocking from the space station just over three hours earlier. NASA images of the landing showed the small capsule parachuting down to Earth with the sunrise as a backdrop. The astronauts gave thumbs-up gestures as rescuers carried them from the spacecraft to an inflatable medical tent. Despite looking a little worse for wear as he was pulled from the vessel, Pettit was 'doing well and in the range of what is expected for him following return to Earth,' NASA said in a statement. He was then set to fly to the Kazakh city of Karaganda before boarding a NASA plane to the agency's Johnson Space Center in Texas. The astronauts spent their time on the ISS researching areas such as water sanitization technology, plant growth in various conditions and fire behavior in microgravity, NASA said. The trio's seven-month trip was just short of the nine months that NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams unexpectedly spent stuck on the orbital lab after the spacecraft they were testing suffered technical issues and was deemed unfit to fly them back to Earth. Space is one of the final areas of US-Russia cooperation amid an almost complete breakdown in relations between Moscow and Washington over the Ukraine conflict.—AFP
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA to Welcome Expedition 72 Astronauts Home at Space Center Houston
HOUSTON, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Four NASA astronauts will participate in a welcome home ceremony at Space Center Houston after recently returning from missions aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Don Pettit will share highlights from their missions at 6 p.m. CDT Thursday, May 22, during a free, public event at NASA Johnson Space Center's visitor center. The astronauts also will recognize key mission contributors during an awards ceremony after their presentation. Williams and Wilmore launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on June 5, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 41 as part of NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test. The duo arrived at the space station on June 6. In August, NASA announced the uncrewed return of Starliner to Earth and integrated Wilmore and Williams with the Expedition 71/72 crew and a return on Crew-9. Hague launched Sept. 28, 2024, with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida as part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission. The next day, they docked to the forward-facing port of the station's Harmony module. Hague, Gorbunov, Wilmore, and Williams returned to Earth on March 18, 2025, splashing down safely off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, in the Gulf of America. Williams and Wilmore traveled 121,347,491 miles during their mission, spent 286 days in space, and completed 4,576 orbits around Earth. Hague and Gorbunov traveled 72,553,920 miles during their mission, spent 171 days in space, and completed 2,736 orbits around Earth. Hague has logged 374 days in space during two missions. It was the third spaceflight for both Williams and Wilmore. Williams has logged 608 total days in space, and Wilmore has logged 464 days. Pettit launched aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on Sept. 11, 2024, alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The seven-month research mission as an Expedition 72 flight engineer was the fourth spaceflight of Pettit's career, completing 3,520 orbits of the Earth and a journey of 93.3 million miles. He has logged a total of 590 days in orbit. Pettit and his crewmembers safely landed in Kazakhstan on April 19, 2025 (April 20, 2025, Kazakhstan time). The Expedition 72 crew dedicated more than 1,000 combined hours to scientific research and technology demonstrations aboard the International Space Station. Their work included enhancing metal 3D printing capabilities in orbit, exploring the potential of stem cell technology for treating diseases, preparing the first wooden satellite for deployment, and collecting samples from the station's exterior to examine whether microorganisms can survive in the harsh environment of space. They also conducted studies on plant growth and quality, investigated how fire behaves in microgravity, and advanced life support systems, all aimed at improving the health, safety, and sustainability of future space missions. Pettit also used his spare time and surroundings aboard station to conduct unique experiments and captivate the public with his photography. Expedition 72 captured a record one million photos during the mission, showcasing the unique research and views aboard the orbiting laboratory through astronauts' eyes. For more than 24 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge, and conducting critical research for the benefit of humanity and our home planet. Space station research supports the future of human spaceflight as NASA looks toward deep space missions to the Moon under the Artemis campaign and in preparation for future human missions to Mars, as well as expanding commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit and beyond. Learn more about the International Space Station at: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE NASA
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China steps up space race with another successful rocket launch
China has launched three astronauts into space on Thursday, marking a further step in the country's ambitions for a crewed mission to the Moon and explore Mars. The Shenzhou 20 spaceship was launched as planned atop China's workhorse Long March 2F rocket at 17:17 local time. It was set to reach the Tiangong space station about 6.5 hours later. The rocket lifted off from the launch centre in Jiuquan, on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China. The ship will remain in space before returning the current crew. While in space, the astronauts will conduct experiments in medical science and new technologies and perform space walks to carry out maintenance and install new equipment, the Manned Space Agency said. Related Europe's defence sector bets on space amid growing geopolitical threats Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying Expedition 72 crew lands in Kazakhstan The Tiangong, or 'Heavenly Palace', space station has made China a major contender in space, providing an entirely Chinese-built platform after the country was excluded from the International Space Station over US national security concerns. China's space programme is controlled by the People's Liberation Army, the military branch of the ruling Communist Party. The addition of mechanical arms to the three-module station has raised concerns from other powers that China could use them to disable satellites or other space vehicles during a crisis.
Euronews
24-04-2025
- Science
- Euronews
China steps up space race with another successful rocket launch
ADVERTISEMENT China has launched three astronauts into space on Thursday, marking a further step in the country's ambitions for a crewed mission to the Moon and explore Mars. The Shenzhou 20 spaceship was launched as planned atop China's workhorse Long March 2F rocket at 17:17 local time. It was set to reach the Tiangong space station about 6.5 hours later. The rocket lifted off from the launch centre in Jiuquan, on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China. The ship will remain in space before returning the current crew. While in space, the astronauts will conduct experiments in medical science and new technologies and perform space walks to carry out maintenance and install new equipment, the Manned Space Agency said. Related Europe's defence sector bets on space amid growing geopolitical threats Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying Expedition 72 crew lands in Kazakhstan The Tiangong, or 'Heavenly Palace', space station has made China a major contender in space, providing an entirely Chinese-built platform after the country was excluded from the International Space Station over US national security concerns. China's space programme is controlled by the People's Liberation Army, the military branch of the ruling Communist Party. The addition of mechanical arms to the three-module station has raised concerns from other powers that China could use them to disable satellites or other space vehicles during a crisis.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying Expedition 72 crew lands in Kazakhstan
A Russian Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut has returned to Earth as the International Space Station's Expedition 72 crew end their seven-month research assignment. View on euronews
