US astronaut Mark Vande Hei returning to Earth tomorrow on Russian spacecraft

The Nasa astronaut has spent a record 355 days in space

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei inspects a spacesuit in preparation for a spacewalk at the International Space Station in August 2021. Photo: Nasa
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Nasa astronaut Mark Vande Hei is scheduled to return to Earth on Wednesday on a Russian spacecraft.

He has spent nearly a year in space, setting a record for the longest single spaceflight by an American astronaut, previously held by Scott Kelly.

Earlier this month, there were concerns that the astronaut would be stranded on the International Space Station, after Russia’s space chief Dmitry Rogozin posted a video on Twitter showing Russians departing the floating laboratory and leaving an American astronaut behind.

Mr Rogozin has been vocal on social media in response to sanctions imposed on Russia by the West for its invasion of Ukraine.

However, most of his threats have not materialised, and Mr Hei will be returning on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30, along with his Russian cosmonaut colleagues.

“The reality is Mark Vande Hei is coming home on March 30 with Anton and Pyotr. We have confirmation from our Russian colleagues,” said Joel Montalbano, manager of the International Space Station programme, in an earlier press conference.

“We hold a readiness review for each of these major events. We had a readiness review with all the participants of the international partners, and everybody confirmed that the three people coming home will be Anton, Pyotr and Mark.”

Mr Hei flew into space on April 9, 2021, and has spent 355 days on the space station.

The crew will land on the Steppe of Kazakhstan at about 3.28pm, Dubai time.

Nasa will livestream the landing on its website, with coverage expected to begin at 7.30am.

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Updated: March 29, 2022, 2:48 PM