WASHINGTON – While most septuagenarians mark their 70th birthday with cake and quiet family gatherings, NASA’s oldest active astronaut, Don Pettit, celebrated his milestone while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere aboard a Soyuz spacecraft after a seven-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Pettit, along with Russian cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, touched down safely in the remote steppes of Kazakhstan early Tuesday morning, coinciding with his 70th birthday.
Their return marked the end of a 220-day journey in orbit, during which they circled Earth 3,520 times and traveled a staggering 93.3 million miles. It was Pettit’s fourth spaceflight, capping off an extraordinary 29-year career with more than 18 months logged in space.
The Soyuz capsule landed southeast of Dzhezkazgan at 6:20am local time, parachuting through the dawn skies as NASA captured striking images of its descent. Moments later, rescue crews extracted the trio from the capsule, where Pettit was seen flashing a thumbs-up despite looking visibly fatigued.
“Don is doing well and within the expected recovery range following return to Earth,” NASA said in a statement. He was soon to be flown to Karaganda before heading back to the Johnson Space Center in Texas for further medical checks and debriefing.
During their time aboard the ISS, the crew conducted a range of experiments, including research on water sanitation systems, plant growth in varying conditions, and how fire behaves in microgravity environments—contributions vital to future deep space exploration.
The seven-month stay was just shy of the nine months endured by fellow NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were recently delayed aboard the ISS due to technical issues with their return spacecraft.
For Pettit, however, this mission not only adds another feather to his storied spacefaring cap—it turned his 70th birthday into an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime cosmic celebration.