In an extraordinary celebration of space exploration and personal achievement, Dan Pettit, the oldest serving astronaut in the United States, has made a triumphant return to Earth—coinciding with his 70th birthday!

The Soyuz MS-26 space capsule, carrying Pettit alongside his Russian colleagues Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, touched down in the vast steppes of Kazakhstan at 06:20 local time (01:20 GMT) on Sunday. After an incredible 220 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the crew completed an astounding 3,520 orbits around our planet.

For Pettit, this marks his fourth mission and adds to an impressive total of 590 days spent in the embrace of space. However, he still trails behind John Glenn, who holds the record for the oldest person to fly in orbit, having done so at the age of 77 during a NASA mission in 1998.

Having landed, Pettit and his crewmates will take some time to readjust to the pull of gravity, a sensation they haven't experienced in months. Following this adjustment period, Pettit will be flown to Houston, Texas, while Ovchinin and Vagner will head to Russia's renowned space training facility in Zvyozdniy Gorodok, close to Moscow.

Before departing the ISS, the crew ceremoniously handed command of the spacecraft to Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, marking a significant transition in their journey.

As Dan Pettit embarks on this next chapter, his adventure serves as an inspiration, proving that age is just a number in the pursuit of dreams and discovery among the stars!