Record-breaking Nasa astronaut returns to Earth on Russian craft after year-long ISS stay

Mark Vande Hei touches down after 355 days aboard International Space Station

The moment the Russian Soyuz capsule touched down in Kazakhstan at 5.28pm local time on 30 March, 2022 (NASA/AFP via Getty)

A Nasa astronaut has returned to Earth aboard a Russian craft after breaking the record for the longest single spaceflight by an astronaut.

Mark Vande Hei spent 355 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), breaking the previous record by 15 days.

In that time he orbited the Earth 5,680 times, covering a distance of more than 150 million miles.

Vande Hei was joined by two Roscosmos cosmonauts – Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov – on the return journey from the ISS, which touched down in Kazakhstan on Wednesday afternoon.

The US space agency broadcasted a live stream video of the parachute-assisted landing on its Nasa TV platform, which was controlled by the Russian mission control centre in the town of Korelev on the outskirts of Moscow.

Russian Soyuz rocket carrying astronauts is expected to land back on Earth in the steppe of Kazakhstan on Wednesday (Nasa)

The capsule landed upright but tipped onto its side after strong winds blew the parachute.

Recovery teams on the ground assisted the space farers off the craft before they boarded a helicopter for a two-hour flight to the city of Karaganda.

Mr Vande Hei will then catch a flight from there to Houston in the US, where he will be reunited with friends and family.

Mark Vande Hei (AP)

“Mark’s mission is not only record-breaking, but also paving the way for future human explorers on the Moon, Mars, and beyond,” Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.

“Our astronauts make incredible sacrifices in the name of science, exploration, and cutting-edge technology development, not least among them time away from loved ones. Nasa and the nation are proud to welcome Mark home and grateful for his incredible contributions throughout his year-long stay on the International Space Station.”

The trip was put into doubt when the Russian space agency appeared to threaten to not allow Vande Hei to travel aboard its Soyuz craft, after the US imposed sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

The ISS astronauts and cosmonauts said they did not discuss the issues and continued to operate as usual while working on the orbiting laboratory.

“People have problems on Earth. On orbit we are... one crew, like space brothers and sisters,” Mr Shkaplerov said on Tuesday.