ISS Crew Members Return Safely to Earth After One-Year Space Journey

baikonur - Three crew members of the ISS have safely returned to Earth after a long space journey. Two of them, the Russians Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, spent 374 consecutive days at the International Space Station, setting a new record.

On Monday, the spacecraft carrying Kononenko, Chub, and the American Tracy Dyson landed safely in the vast steppe of Kazakhstan, hanging from parachutes. Dyson arrived at the ISS in March and returned to Earth after six months. During their stay, Kononenko and Chub orbited the Earth 5984 times, covering a distance of over 255 million kilometers. Kononenko celebrated his 60th birthday during the mission.

For Kononenko, this was his fifth space voyage, accumulating a total of 1111 days spent orbiting the Earth. He holds the record for the most days spent in space among all astronauts. Kononenko first journeyed to space in April 2008, spending over 196 days at the ISS before returning to Earth in October of the same year. In 2011 and 2012, he flew alongside Dutch astronaut André Kuipers, spending 190 days together at the ISS. Both missions were the second space flights for Kononenko and Kuipers. Kononenko also spent time in space from July 2015 to December 2015 and from December 2018 to June 2019.