A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station now officially holds the U.S. record for most days in space
Since arriving on April 9, 2021, astronaut Mark Vande Hei has lived in space for more than 340 days. But that's not enough for Vande Hei. When his mission ends on March 30, he'll have spent a record 355 consecutive days in Earth orbit, per NASA.
By spending nearly a year in space, Vande Hei surpasses Christina Koch's 328-day mission and Scott Kelly's 340-day mission.
In a February Twitter thread, Vande Hei reflected on his time away from the planet he calls home. In the beginning, the veteran astronaut described adjusting from being in crowds to practically being alone while his "Day 300" thoughts consisted of: "The adventure continues."
But as Vande Hei prepares to return to Earth, it will be different from when he left it. That sentiment especially rings true when it comes to the international relations with the country that's set to give him a ride home.
Vande Hei arrived at the space station aboard the Soyuz MS-18 along with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Oleg Novitskiy and is planning to hitch a ride back aboard the Soyuz MS-19 on March 30.
His departure aboard the Russian spacecraft will come just more than a month after President Joe Biden announced sanctions against the country for its invasion of Ukraine.
"Between our actions and those of our allies and partners, we estimate that we'll cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports. And we'll strike a blow to their ability to continue to modernize the military. It'll degrade their aerospace industry, including their space program," Biden said at the time.
At this point, Russia has not indicated they would leave Vande Hei behind amid its souring relationships as a result of its attack on Ukraine.
During a Feb. 28 virtual press conference regarding the Axiom (Ax-1) private mission, Associate Administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate Kathy Lueders said things aboard the ISS are business as usual.
"Right now, in the same manner, are planning on Mark and are getting ready for Mark to return and all of the normal operations are in place for that for us to be able to go do that," Lueders said "But as you know, we continue to, you know — as always if you're working on space station you continue to monitor the situation and operate."
Lueders also noted NASA is continuing to monitor the situation and that the agency has operated in similar situations in the past where both sides worked professionally and understood "the importance of this fantastic mission and continuing to have peaceful relations between the two countries in space."
