In the quiet, expansive steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Expedition 70 to the ISS officially ended. NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya from Belarus, concluded their space mission with a parachute-assisted landing in the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft at 3:17 a.m. EDT on Saturday, April 6 (12:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time).
The landing marked the end of a journey that began when their spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 11:55 a.m., initiating their journey back to Earth.
Loral O’Hara’s mission began on September 15, 2023, and spanned 204 days in low Earth orbit, showcasing the durability and resilience required for extended space missions. During her time aboard the ISS, O’Hara experienced approximately 3,264 orbits of Earth and traveled around 86,555,554 statute miles. The ISS welcomed eight spacecraft visits during her expedition, including two Roscosmos Progress cargo ships, one Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft, one Roscosmos Soyuz, two crewed SpaceX Dragons, and two uncrewed SpaceX Dragons.
With the return of O’Hara, Novitskiy, and Vasilevskaya, Expedition 71 has officially commenced aboard the station, featuring an international crew of NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Tracy Dyson, and Jeannette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.
Marina Vasilevskaya’s return is particularly notable as she became the first female Belarusian to journey into space, marking a milestone in the country’s space exploration history.
Marina Vasilevskaya, a 33-year-old flight attendant, earned her historic spaceflight opportunity through a highly competitive process overseen by the Belarus Academy of Sciences and the Belarus Space Agency. This national competition drew the attention of 3,000 hopefuls, leading to a final selection of seven candidates. Among these finalists, Vasilevskaya was chosen for the coveted space journey, with 28-year-old pediatric surgeon Anastasia Lenkova serving as her alternate.
Following her return to Earth, Vasilevskaya shared her profound emotional experience, stating, “I’m overwhelmed with emotions. It’s something incredible.” She continued, reflecting on her time in space and the perspective it offered her, “I wish all people on Earth to treasure and cherish what they have because it is precious.”
Despite the mission’s conclusion, Vasilevskaya expressed a desire for an extended stay in orbit, noting, “We wanted to stay longer [on the ISS], but it is great to be back.”
The successful launch of this mission followed a resolved battery issue that led to the abort of a Soyuz rocket just days before their departure. Belarus, a military ally of Russia, was invited for this short-term ISS mission amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions, highlighting the complexity of international relations in space exploration.
Upon their safe return, Vasilevskaya expressed overwhelming emotions and a newfound appreciation for Earth, urging people to cherish what they have. The crew members were celebrated with traditional Russian Matryoshka dolls bearing their likenesses, symbolizing their contribution to space exploration and the enduring spirit of human curiosity and resilience.
