Peggy Whitson, the first female International Space Station commander, returned on Earth. (AFP)
Highlights
- Peggy Whitson returned to earth after 288 days in space
- She is America's most experienced astronaut with 665 days in total
- She landed in a Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft in Kazakhstan
A record-shattering NASA astronaut returned to Earth on Saturday, finishing a 288-day mission that put her over the top as the American who has spent the most cumulative amount of time in space.
Footage on NASA TV showed a Soyuz module containing Whitson, US astronaut Jack Fischer and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin hit steppe land in central Kazakhstan at the expected time of 0122 GMT.
Whitson returns to earth as NASA's most experienced astronaut with 665 days logged in space over a trio of missions.
According to NASA, the US record she set in April leaves her eighth on the Russian-dominated all-time space endurance list, just behind Yurchikhin who has now logged 673 days.
The biochemist completed a mission at the International Space Station that began in November 2016, covering 122.2 million miles (196.7 million kilometers) and 4,623 orbits of Earth.
She and crewmates Jack Fischer of NASA and Fyodor Yurchikhin of Russian space agency Roscosmos landed in Kazakhstan at 9:22 pm (0122 GMT Sunday) in a Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft.
The Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft is seen as it lands in Kazakhstan. (AFP)
With this touchdown, Whitson has racked up 665 days in space in her career, more than any other American astronaut. She is eighth on the all-time space endurance list, NASA said.
After earning a doctorate in biochemistry in 1985, Whitson worked as a NASA scientist for seven years before starting as an astronaut in 1997.
On this most recent mission, Whitson conducted experiments with human stem cells, blood samples and grew several crops of Chinese cabbage, according to posts on her Facebook page.
"The best part, was that after we harvested for the science, we got to eat the rest!" she said of her greens.
In an interview before departing the space station, Whitson said she was looking forward to flush toilets ("Trust me, you don't want to know the details") and pizza.
But, "I will miss seeing the enchantingly peaceful limb of our Earth from this vantage point. Until the end of my days, my eyes will search the horizon to see that curve," she said, according to a transcript of the interview posted on the NASA website.
She noted that she's not totally comfortable with the attention she receives for her various records and her status as a role model.
"I honestly do think that it is critical that we are continuously breaking records, because that represents us moving forward in exploration," Whitson said.
The scientist also has a silly side. To celebrate the July Fourth holiday, she posted photos and a video of herself and Fischer wearing loud red, white and blue outfits, striking poses in zero gravity.
"I am not sure what the future holds for me personally, but I envision myself continuing to work on spaceflight programs. My desire to contribute to the spaceflight team as we move forward in our exploration of space has only increased over the years," she said of her plans.
The astronauts' return comes as the Texas city of Houston, home to NASA's Johnson Space Center, has been struggling to get back to normalcy after a week of deadly flooding triggered by Hurricane Harvey.
Peggy Whitson and her crewmates Fyodor Yurchikhin with Jack Fischer landed on Earth today. (AFP)
"As a result of the impacts of Hurricane Harvey, NASA is reviewing return plans to Houston of Whitson, Fischer and the science samples landing in the Soyuz spacecraft," the space agency said.