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NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei has set a new record for the longest U.S. spaceflight. Vande Hei has been in space for 341 days, breaking the previous record set by retired astronaut Scott Kelly.
"Our astronauts are incredible explorers helping expand our knowledge of how humans can live and work in space for longer periods of time," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "Mark's record-setting mission and his contributions to science are paving the way for more people to travel to space on longer-duration missions as the agency pushes the boundaries of exploration to the Moon and Mars. Thank you for your service, Mark, and congratulations!"
During his time in low-Earth orbit, Vande Hei "contributed to dozens of studies from the hundreds executed during his mission, including six science investigations supported by NASA's Human Research Program."
Vande Hei still has another two weeks in space before he returns to Earth. Despite ongoing international tensions stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Vande Hei is still expected to return home on March 30 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that will land in Kazakhstan. He will be joined by Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov. If everything goes as scheduled, Vande Hei will log a total of 355 days on the International Space Station.