NASA’s oldest active astronaut, Don Pettit, marked his 70th birthday on Sunday by returning to Earth after a 220-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Pettit has logged over 18 months in space across four missions in his 29-year career. NASA reports Pettit is in good condition and en route to the Johnson Space Center in Texas.
He and his Russian crewmates orbited Earth 3,520 times, traveling more than 93 million miles while conducting research on water purification, plant growth, and fire behavior in microgravity.
Known for his passion for space photography, Pettit captured and shared stunning images of Earth, including auroras and rare atmospheric phenomena like sprites and blue jets.
