St. John’s University Graduate Astronaut Mark Vande Hei Returns to Earth After 355 Days in Space

(KNSI) — American astronaut and St. John’s University alum Mark Vande Hei is back on Earth after his record-breaking 355 day stay aboard the International Space Station.

Vande Hei, along with Russian cosmonauts Pytor Dubrov, and Anton Shkaplerov touched down in the Kazakh desert at 6:28 a.m. Central Time.

He blasted off from the Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 8th, 2021, on a Russian Soyuz space capsule with cosmonauts Dubrov and Shkaplerov. Vande Hei was due to come home in September, but NASA extended his stay. He told KNSI that he and his family have been bracing that and that it was not unexpected, adding, “it’s got a sense of novelty to it. For me, it’s a new experience. And I’m looking forward to, as a human being, understanding how it feels to do something like this.” He says astronauts are explorers at heart, and contributing to furthering exploration is a “great opportunity.”

March 15th, Vande Hei broke the old record of most consecutive days in space for an American set by Scott Kelly.

March 11th, the head of the Russian Space Agency, Dmitri Rogozin, threatened to leave Vande Hei behind and detach Russia’s portion of the ISS altogether due to the U.S.’s tightening restrictions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Before Vande Hei and the crew undocked and handed over control of the ISS mission, Shkaplerov addressed his crewmates, saying, “People have problem[s] on Earth. In orbit, we are one crew. The ISS is like [a] symbol of friendship and cooperation and like [a] symbol of [the] future of exploration of space.” He thanked his space brothers and space sister, shook hands, and hugged Thomas Marshburn, who took over command.

KNSI was afforded the opportunity to speak with Vande Hei last month. Hear that interview by clicking here.

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