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Dr. Frank Rubio , the first American astronaut to live in place continuously for more than a year , has hark back to Earth . He spent 371 consecutive days on theInternational Space Station(ISS ) , overshadow the nearly yearlong stints of astronauts Mark Vande Hei ( 355 days ) and Scott Kelly ( 340 days ) . The record - setting stumble was more than double as long as originally schedule .
Rubio , along with Russian spaceman Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin , touched down in rural Kazakhstan on Sept. 27 . They werepulled out of their Soyuz capsule and carried awaybecause they were unable to walk due to their extended arrest in microgravity .
Frank Rubio is carried away from the Soyuz capsule he returned to Earth in on Sept. 27.
Rubio , Prokopyev and Petelin arrived on the ISS aboard a Soyuz capsule on Sept. 21 , 2022 . They were due to hark back to Earth on March 28 but had to remain in distance after their spacecraft was hit by a spell of space debris or meteoroid in December 2022 , whichcaused an uncontrollable radiator leak . The unrepairable capsule was returned to Earth and was substitute by another uncrewed capsule in February , which the trio used to return home .
Due to other programing conflicts , Rubio , Prokopyev and Petelin had to stay aboard the ISS until now . But Rubio ’s exsert stoppage provides an unexpected opportunity to learn more about prolonged spaceflight .
" Frank ’s record - unwrap meter in space is not just a milepost ; it ’s a major donation to our discernment of long - duration quad missions,“NASAAdministratorBill Nelsonsaid in astatement . " He substantiate the true pioneer spirit that will pave the mode for future exploration to the Moon , Mars , and beyond . "
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The previous record spacefaring by an American was held by Vande Hei , whospent 355 consecutive twenty-four hour period on board the ISSbetween 2021 and 2022 . But the longest - ever back-to-back time expend in space was a whopping 437 days , which was set by cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov between 1994 and 1995 .
During his mission , Rubio completed approximately 5,936 orbits of Earth , which equates to around 157 million miles ( 253 million km ) , or or so 328 trip to the moon and back , agree to NASA . He also carry out threespacewalkstotaling around 21 hour and had 28 dissimilar crewmates on the ISS .
Frank Rubio (seated left), Sergey Prokopyev (seated center) and Dmitri Petelin (seated left) with the team that helped recover them in Kazakhstan.
In a Sept. 19interview on board the ISS , Rubio explained that it had been laborious to be away from his menage for such a tenacious sentence but that he had try severely to " stay on positive " during his extended mission . " You strain to just focus on the job and on the mission and remain steady , because at long last , every day , you have to show up and do the work , " he said .
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Rubio conducted a kind of scientific experiments during his time in place , including testing how bacteria behave in microgravity . But his favorite experiments were post out on a tomato plant . " I love function with that small industrial plant and seeing it raise and develop , " he enounce .
It will be especially interesting to see how well Rubio adjusts to life sentence back on Earth . Prolonged clip in space can cause muscle degeneration , bone red ink , reduced eyesight and impaired balance , and can even vary the shape of the brain . The recent phonograph record - breaking mission was Rubio ’s first fourth dimension in distance , which mean his body has not feel any of these issues before . He predicts that it could take two to six calendar month to feel totally normal again .
