NASA’s Oldest Active Astronaut Returns to Earth on His 70th Birthday

For most people, turning 70 might mean a quiet celebration with cake, gifts, and close family. But for NASA’s oldest serving astronaut, Don Pettit, it meant re-entering Earth’s atmosphere after a seven-month journey aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Pettit marked his milestone birthday on Sunday while descending toward Earth in a Soyuz capsule, alongside Russian cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The spacecraft touched down at 6:20 a.m. local time in a remote region southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, completing a mission that spanned 220 days, 3,520 orbits around the planet, and 93.3 million miles.

This marked Pettit’s fourth spaceflight, bringing his total time in space to over 18 months throughout his distinguished 29-year career at NASA.

Photos from NASA captured the dramatic moment the capsule parachuted down at sunrise, painting a stunning backdrop for the trio’s return. After landing, the astronauts were helped from the capsule and given medical checks inside a temporary inflatable facility. Pettit, despite appearing slightly fatigued, was said to be “doing well and within expected conditions following return to Earth,” according to a NASA statement.

Following the landing, the team was transported to the city of Karaganda before Pettit boarded a NASA flight back to Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

During their mission aboard the ISS, the crew conducted various scientific experiments, including research into water purification technology, plant growth under different conditions, and the behavior of fire in microgravity.

Their return comes shortly after NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spent an unexpected nine months aboard the ISS due to issues with the spacecraft intended to bring them home.

For Don Pettit, it was a birthday unlike any other—returning to Earth as a septuagenarian, with space still very much a part of his legacy.