NASA Astronaut Tracy Dyson and Crew Safely Return from Record Breaking ISS Mission
space station astronauts return to earth : NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson has successfully completed a groundbreaking six-month research mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), returning to Earth alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub. Their Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft undocked from the ISS at 4:36 a.m. EDT on September 23, 2023, and made a safe parachute-assisted landing southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 7:59 a.m. EDT (4:59 p.m. local time).
During her time aboard the ISS, Dyson was deeply involved in a variety of scientific research and technology initiatives. Notably, she operated a 3D bioprinter to create cardiac tissue samples, a significant advancement in the quest for viable organ transplants on Earth. Additionally, she participated in experiments to crystallize model proteins, which could enhance pharmaceutical production techniques. Dyson also engaged in a program utilizing student-designed software to control the station’s free-flying robots, nurturing the next generation of innovators.
Dyson’s journey began on March 23, 2023, when she launched into space with cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus. After their 12-day mission, Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya returned to Earth, allowing Dyson to continue her work as part of Expeditions 70 and 71. Over her 184 days in space, Dyson completed an impressive 2,944 orbits around the Earth, traveling approximately 78 million miles. During this mission, she also conducted a spacewalk lasting 31 minutes, bringing her total spacewalk time to 23 hours and 20 minutes across four missions.
Kononenko and Chub, who launched with NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara aboard Soyuz MS-24 last September, set a record with their 374 days in space, completing 5,984 orbits and traveling a staggering 158.6 million miles. This marked Kononenko’s fifth flight, bringing his total time in space to a record-breaking 1,111 days.
Following medical checks upon landing, the crew will return to the recovery staging city of Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Dyson will then travel to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
To keep up with ongoing research and activities on the ISS, follow @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and Instagram pages. The contributions of Dyson and her crew will undoubtedly advance our understanding of science and technology, paving the way for future exploration.
