After having their mission unintentionally prolonged, NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio and his crewmates – Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin finally returned to Earth on 27th September 2023. The trio were aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for a whopping 371 days as members of Expeditions 68-69. Even though their original mission was only planned to be 180 days, the NASA Astronaut and fellow crewmate Cosmonauts could only return to earth now, after being away from home for over a year.
For NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio, this is the record-holding longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut now, breaking Mark Vande Hei’s previous record of 355 days. Russia however, currently holds the world record for the longest spaceflight at 437 days, which was set by Dr. Valeri Polyakov on board Mir Space station, 1994-95.
Aboard the ISS, Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Rubio was tasked with conducting various tasks and experiments, relating to studies ranging from plant physiology all the way to physical sciences. While he was stuck in the space station for over a year, he completed approximately 5,936 orbits around the Earth traveling over 250 million kilometers, and also witnessed the arrival of 15 and the departure of 14 visiting spacecrafts including both crewed as well as cargo missions.
Credits: NASA
Space Debris Hit their Original Capsule
The crew was originally launched as part of Expedition 68 to the International Space Station on the Russian Capsule Soyuz MS-22. But the spacecraft showed a coolant leak that Roscosmos Scientists suspect was due to damage caused by space debris, and the capsule was sent back to Earth in March 2023 without its crew as it could not have been safe enough for human passengers.
The Soyuz MS-23 was launched earlier in February 2023 as a replacement, and this is the capsule that finally brought the crew back home. With the undocking of this craft, the ISS is now said to officially be on its Expedition 70, with new crew members that were launched aboard about two weeks ago.
The crew finally made it back on 27th September 2023 on the Soyuz. It safely landed with parachute-assistance in Kazakhstan southeast of the remote town of Zhezkazgan and landed on its side, with rescue crews rushing out in helicopters to get the NASA Astronaut and the Russian Cosmonauts out. They are reported to have had to experience about four times as much as earth gravity while they were descending the atmosphere.
Effects of Extended Spaceflight on the NASA Astronaut
Extended spaceflight missions like NASA Astronaut Rubio’s provide researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration missions like these on humans. Rubio said that he would not have agreed to a year-long mission if offered outright. He said he missed important family milestones and that the psychological aspects of being in space for so long were tougher than he expected.
NASA Astronaut Rubio said “It’s good to be home,” once he was helped out of the Soyuz capsule. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said “Frank’s record-breaking time in space is not just a milestone; it’s a major contribution to our understanding of long-duration space missions.” The physical effects to human bodies as well as mental health are very important aspects while considering long duration space missions. Data on such effects are crucial in future mission planning as they can help better design the logistics of missions, with specific examples such as the Artemis missions to the moon or to prepare for even longer missions to Mars.
