Frank Rubio, the NASA astronaut who has spent the longest time in space, returns home

2023-09-28 13:34:26

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio landed safely on Earth with his crewmates this Wednesday, after passing 371 days in space. It is the longest period completed by an American astronaut, surpassing the record of 355 days held by Mark Vande Hei.

Frank Rubio, born in the United States to Salvadoran parents, has spent 371 days in space, a record for NASA astronauts

On a global scale, the record for the longest continuous time in space is held by Valery Poliakova cosmonaut who spent 437 days at the MIR station between 1994 and 1995. The also Russian Sergei Avdeyev occupies second place with a stay of 379 days at the end of the 90s.

Frank Rubio, born in Los Angeles (USA) to Salvadoran parentsexplained to the media that the first thing on his list of priorities after arriving on dry land is to hug his wife and children.

At the beginning of the day yesterday, he left the International Space Station (ISS) together with the Roscosmos cosmonauts. Sergey Prokopyev y Dmitri Petelinand hours later made an uneventful landing assisted by parachute southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, in Kazakhstan.

Welcome home, Frank!
The longest space flight for any of our @NASA_Astronauts just. Frank Rubio has returned to Earth after 371 days. His long-standing mission to @Space_Station will help us define the future of deep space exploration. pic.twitter.com/Gj8QPUc92u

— NASA in Spanish (@NASA_es) September 27, 2023

“Frank’s record-breaking time in space is not just a milestone; it is an important contribution to our understanding of long-duration space missions,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Frank’s time in space is not only a milestone, it is an important contribution to our understanding of long-duration space missions.

Bill Nelson (NASA Administrator)

“Our astronauts make extraordinary sacrifices, leaving their homes and loved ones behind, to advance our discoveries,” he adds. “NASA is immensely grateful for Frank’s dedicated service to our nation and for the invaluable scientific contributions he made on the ISS. He personifies the true pioneer spirit that will pave the way for future explorations to the Moon, Mars and beyond”.

Rubio undertook his first space flight on September 21, 2022, along with Prokopyev and Petelin. During his mission, he completed 5,936 orbits and a journey of more than 252 million kilometers, approximately the equivalent of 328 round trips to the Moon. He witnessed the arrival of 15 spacecraft and the departure of another 14 spacecraft on manned and unmanned cargo missions.

Scientific activities

He also dedicated many hours to scientific activities aboard the space station, performing varied tasks ranging from plant research to physical science studies.

An unforeseen extended mission

In reality, their stay in space was scheduled for six months, but the Soyuz MS-22 capsule in which they were to return had a breakdown, a coolant leak, and returned without its crew. We had to wait for the ship Soyuz MS-23 It will be launched as a replacement on February 23, 2023.

Rubio’s extended mission offers researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long duration space flights in humans, as noted by the NASA administrator, at a time when the agency plans to return to the Moon through the Artemis missions and prepare for the exploration of Mars.

For now, Rubio, Prokopyev and Petelin have returned to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23. After medical checks after landing, the crew will travel to Karaganda (Kazakhstan). Next, the American astronaut will board a NASA plane bound for Houston.

The crew remaining on the station

When this Soyuz spacecraft undocked, Expedition 70 officially began aboard the station. NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara y Jasmin Moghbeli They remain on board the orbital outpost along with the astronaut Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (ESA), who became station commander on September 26, astronaut Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Roscosmos cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub.

Mogensen, Moghbeli, Furukawa and Borisov will return to Earth in February 2024, after a brief relief with the crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. O’Hara is scheduled to return to Earth in March 2024, while Kononenko and Chub will spend a year aboard the station and return home in September 2024.

Rights: Creative Commons.