Digital Desk: NASA astronaut Frank Rubio returned to Earth on September 28, 2023, after a record-setting 371 days in space. He landed safely in Kazakhstan with his Russian crewmates Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin.
Rubio’s mission was originally scheduled to last for 180 days, but it was extended due to a delay in the launch of the spacecraft that was supposed to bring him home. During his time in space, Rubio participated in a variety of scientific experiments and helped to maintain the International Space Station. He also conducted several spacewalks, including one to repair a damaged solar panel.
Rubio’s mission is a testament to the human spirit and our ability to adapt to challenging environments. He and his crewmates made significant contributions to our understanding of space and helped to advance the cause of human space exploration.
Rubio’s return to Earth is also a reminder of the importance of international cooperation in space. His mission was a collaboration between NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. This cooperation is essential for the future of human space exploration, and it is a symbol of hope for peace and cooperation in a world that is often divided.
Rubio’s stay set a new record for the longest a US astronaut has ever spent in microgravity. He also became the first American to log an entire calendar year in orbit.
His record-breaking mission also marked other notable firsts for Rubio: This was his first journey to space after being selected for the NASA astronaut corps in 2017, and at the outset of the mission, he became the first astronaut of Salvadoran origin to travel to low-Earth orbit.
In a recent interview with CNN, Rubio said that if he had known his stay on the space station would be twice as long as originally planned, he “probably would have declined” the assignment before he began training.
“And that’s only because of family things that were going on this past year,” he said. “And if I had known that I would have had to miss those very important events, I just would have had to say, ‘thank you, but no thank you.’
Rubio bested the previous record for the longest stay in space by a US astronaut — 355 days — which was set by NASA’s Mark Vande Hei in 2022.
The late Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who logged 437 continuous days in orbit aboard Russia’s Mir space station between January 1994 and March 1995 , holds the world record for the longest stay in space.