Mark Vande-Hei: Latest News

Ground personnel carry NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei after landing of the Soyuz MS-06 space capsule in a remote area outside the town of Dzhezkazgan (Zhezkazgan), Kazakhstan, on February 28, 2018.Two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut returned t NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei is about to feel the weight of Earth's gravity for the first time in nearly a year when he lands in Kazakhstan on Wednesday along with two Russian cosmonauts.Since he arrived in space on April 9, 2021, the veteran NASA astronaut has missed a year of holidays, family gatherings and the second year of a global pandemic as Vande Hei has been working on the International Space Station about 200 miles above Earth.Vande Hei will hold the record for the longest American spaceflight at 355 days by the end of his mission. During his career, he has spent more than 520 days in space.In a recent interview from space, Vande Hei said he promised his wife, whom he has not seen in person since January, that this will be his last spaceflight.

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei (CREDIT: NASA) U.S. astronaut and Fairfax County native Mark Vande Hei has made it through nearly a year in space, but faces what could be his trickiest assignment yet: riding a Russian capsule back to Earth in the midst of deepening tensions between the countries.Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and WeatherNASA insists Vande Hei’s homecoming plans at the end of the month remain unchanged, even as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in canceled launches, broken contracts and an escalating war of words by the Russian Space Agency’s hardline leader.

MOSCOW – A Russian-U.S. trio of space travelers launched successfully Friday, heading for the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA may soon chalk up another one-year space mission thanks to an out-of-this-world Russian movie-making deal.