ISS crew return after seven months in Space

Pettit, Soyuz MS-26/72S commander Alexey Ovchinin and flight engineer Ivan Vagner undocked from the Russian Rassvet module at 5:57 p.m. EDT, setting up a parachute-assisted landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan near the town of Dzhezkazgan at 9:20 p.m. EDT — 6:20 a.m. local time Sunday, Pettit's birthday, at the landing site. CBS news reported.

Russian recovery crews and NASA personnel rushed to the spacecraft, opened the top hatch and helped carry the returning crew members to nearby recliners where flight surgeons carried out initial health checks.

Ovchinin and Vagner appeared to be in good spirits, smiling, chatting with support crews and enjoying drinks and snacks. Pettit, however, looked disoriented as he was carried from the descent module, letting his head fall back and closing his eyes as he was moved to his recliner. He was not seen again on the landing site video.

But there were no indications of any sort of major problem, medical or otherwise. From Kazakhstan, Ovchinin and Vagner will head back to Star City near Moscow, while Pettit will be flown to Houston and the Johnson Space Center for more detailed tests and the start of physical re-habilitation.

In an April 16 interview with KOIN-TV in Portland, Oregon, Pettit said he had more difficulty than most when returning to gravity after a long stay in space.

"The very first thing I'm going to do when I get to Earth will probably be to empty the contents of my stomach," he said, prompting laughter. "It's a physiological thing, it affects different people different ways. Some people can land and go out and eat pizza and dance. When I land, it takes me about 24 hours to feel like I'm a human being again."

With the on-time landing, mission duration stood at 220 days and nearly nine hours, spanning 3,520 orbits and 93.3 million miles since launch last Sept. 11 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Ovchinin has now logged 595 days in space over four flights, followed closely by Pettit, whose total stands at 590 days over four flights of his own. Vagner's total after two station visits stands at 416 days.

The world record for most cumulative time in space is held by cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, who spent nearly 1,111 days in orbit over five missions. The U.S. record is held by astronaut Peggy Whitson. She spent 675 days in space over four flights.