{"id":52184,"date":"2018-02-28T02:27:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-28T06:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-419661"},"modified":"2023-07-26T15:05:09","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T19:05:09","slug":"nasa-astronauts-return-to-earth-land-safely-in-kazakhstan","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasa-astronauts-return-to-earth-land-safely-in-kazakhstan\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Astronauts Return to Earth, Land Safely in Kazakhstan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"Astronauts and cosmonaut with ground crew after Soyuz landing\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg 4759w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg?resize=300,161 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg?resize=768,412 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg?resize=1024,550 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg?resize=1536,825 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg?resize=2048,1100 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg?resize=400,215 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg?resize=600,322 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg?resize=900,483 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg?resize=1200,645 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/26657737478_0e0a3ab138_o.jpg?resize=2000,1074 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, left, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, center, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei sit in chairs outside the Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft after they landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 (February 27 Eastern time.) Acaba, Vande Hei, and Misurkin are returning after 168 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 53 and 54 crews onboard the International Space Station. <strong>Credits: NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/acaba.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1382\" height=\"1061\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/acaba.png?w=1382\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"NASA astronaut Joe Acaba\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/acaba.png 1382w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/acaba.png?resize=300,230 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/acaba.png?resize=768,590 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/acaba.png?resize=1024,786 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/acaba.png?resize=400,307 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/acaba.png?resize=600,461 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/acaba.png?resize=900,691 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/acaba.png?resize=1200,921 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1382px) 100vw, 1382px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">NASA astronaut Joe Acaba gives a thumbs-up to the cameras after landing with his fellow International Space Station Expedition 54 crew members near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 9:31 p.m. EST Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018, after 168 days in space. <strong>Credits: NASA Television<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"930\" height=\"716\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg?w=930\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg 930w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg?resize=300,231 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg?resize=768,591 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg?resize=400,308 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg?resize=600,462 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg?resize=900,693 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 930px) 100vw, 930px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei enjoys his first moments of fresh air on Earth after landing with his fellow International Space Station Expedition 54 crew members near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 9:31 p.m. EST Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018, after 168 days in space. <strong>Credits: NASA Television<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Three members of the Expedition 54 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS), including NASA astronauts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/astronauts\/biographies\/mark-t-vande-hei\">Mark Vande Hei<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/astronauts\/biographies\/joseph-m-acaba\">Joe Acaba<\/a>, returned to Earth on Tuesday after months of performing research and spacewalks in low-Earth orbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vande Hei, Acaba and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos landed at 9:31 p.m. EST (8:31 a.m. Feb. 28 in Kazakhstan) southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their time on station marked the beginning of the first long-term increase in crew size on the U.S. segment, enabling NASA to double the time dedicated to research and achieve a record-setting week of research that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/station\/research\/news\/wklysumm_week_of_05feb18\">surpassed 100 hours<\/a>. Highlights from this research include investigations into the manufacturing of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/station\/research\/experiments\/explorer\/Investigation.html?#id=7388\">fiber optic filaments<\/a> in microgravity, improving the accuracy of an implantable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/station\/research\/experiments\/explorer\/Investigation.html?#id=7703\">glucoses biosensor<\/a>, and measuring the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/station\/research\/experiments\/explorer\/Investigation.html?#id=1907\">Sun\u2019s energy input to Earth<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The crew also welcomed four <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/visiting-vehicle-launches-arrivals-and-departures\">cargo spacecraft<\/a> delivering several tons of supplies and research experiments. Orbital ATK\u2019s Cygnus spacecraft arrived at the station in November on the company\u2019s eighth commercial resupply mission, followed in December by SpaceX\u2019s Dragon spacecraft on the company\u2019s thirteenth resupply mission. Two Russian ISS Progress cargo craft arrived at the station in October and February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vande Hei logged 168 days in space on this, his first, mission. He ventured outside the space station on four <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/station\/spacewalks\">spacewalks<\/a> to perform work that included replacing and lubricating the Latching End Effectors on both ends of the Canadarm2. Acaba completed one spacewalk to lubricate an end effector and install new cameras on the station\u2019s arm and truss. He now has accrued 306 days in space on three flights. Acaba and Vande Hei also participated in dozens of educational events while in space as part of NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/audience\/foreducators\/stem-on-station\/year-of-education.html\">Year of Education on Station<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Misurkin conducted one record-setting spacewalk with fellow cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov to replace an electronics box for a high-gain communications antenna on the Zvezda service module in February. The spacewalk timed out at 8 hours and 13 minutes, the longest in Russian space program history. Misurkin now has spent 334 days in space on two flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now operating the station are Expedition 55 crew members Commander Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos and Flight Engineers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/astronauts\/biographies\/scott-d-tingle\">Scott Tingle<\/a> of NASA and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Astronauts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/astronauts\/biographies\/richard-r-arnold\">Ricky Arnold<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/astronauts\/biographies\/andrew-j-feustel\">Drew Feustel<\/a> of NASA, and Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch March 21 and arrive at the space station two days later, returning the crew size to six.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more about the International Space Station at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/station\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Get breaking news, images and features from the station on social media at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/instagram.com\/iss\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a class=\"twitter-timeline\" data-width=\"500\" data-height=\"750\" data-dnt=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Space_Station?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"noopener\">Tweets by Space_Station<\/a><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>-end-<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Stephanie Schierholz<br \/>\nHeadquarters, Washington<br \/>\n202-358-1100<br \/>\nstephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov<br \/>\nGary Jordan<br \/>\nJohnson Space Center, Houston<br \/>\n281-483-5111<br \/>\ngary.j.jordan@nasa.gov<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three members of the Expedition 54 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS), including NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba, returned to Earth on Tuesday after months of performing research and spacewalks in low-Earth orbit. Vande Hei, Acaba and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos landed at 9:31 p.m. EST […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":54077,"template":"","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"18-010","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"RELEASE","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[]},"categories":[8360,8361,2656,2735,2861,2867],"news-tags":[12345],"internal-terms":[9514,9508],"coauthors":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"NASA Astronauts Return to Earth, Land Safely in Kazakhstan","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasa-astronauts-return-to-earth-land-safely-in-kazakhstan\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasa-astronauts-return-to-earth-land-safely-in-kazakhstan\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg"},"articleSection":"Missions","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NASA"}],"creator":["NASA"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["NASA Centers & Facilities","NASA Headquarters","Expedition 54","Expedition 55","Humans in Space","International Space Station (ISS)","Johnson Space Center"],"dateCreated":"2018-02-28T06:27:00Z","datePublished":"2018-02-28T06:27:00Z","dateModified":"2023-07-26T19:05:09Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"NASA Astronauts Return to Earth, Land Safely in Kazakhstan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasa-astronauts-return-to-earth-land-safely-in-kazakhstan\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2018-02-28T06:27:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"Missions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities,NASA Headquarters,Expedition 54,Expedition 55,Humans in Space,International Space Station (ISS),Johnson Space Center\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"NASA\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":4,"featured_image":{"id":54077,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/vande_hei.jpg","title":"vande_hei","alt":"NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/52184"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-release"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/52184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":370073,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/52184\/revisions\/370073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52184"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=52184"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=52184"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=52184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}