This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
A U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts have returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS), landing safely in Kazakhstan in a rare show of cooperation between the two countries whose relations have all but disintegrated over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
NASA’s Mark Vande Hei and Russians Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov returned on a Soyuz capsule following customary procedures.
The flight had been closely watched for any signs that tensions over the war had spilled over into U.S.-Russian cooperation on the ISS.
Russian space agency Roskosmos broadcast the landing of the capsule near the city of Zhezqazghan on the Kazakh steppe.
“The crew is feeling good after landing, according to rescuers,” Roskosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin wrote on Telegram.
Vande Hei, who logged a U.S. space-endurance record of 355 consecutive days in orbit, smiled and gave a thumbs-up sign after rescuers removed him from the capsule and medics checked his vital signs.
“Beautiful out here,” said Vande Hei, putting on a face mask and baseball cap.
The team of NASA doctors and other staff on hand for Vande Hei’s return planned to fly immediately back to the United States with the 55-year-old astronaut.
His 355 days surpassed the previous 340-day record set by Scott Kelly in 2016, according to NASA. Kelly, who retired from NASA, has traded barbs with Rogozin, an avid supporter of the invasion, on Twitter.
It was the first space flight for Dubrov, 40, who was launched to the ISS with Vande Hei on April 9, 2021, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Shkaplerov, 50, who was ending his rotation as the latest ISS commander, is a veteran of four missions to the ISS. He arrived in October at the orbiting outpost for his latest stint.
