Get ready for an exhilarating space homecoming! NASA astronaut Don Pettit, along with his cosmonaut companions Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, is set to return to Earth this evening, April 19, and you can catch all the excitement live!

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft will undock from the International Space Station (ISS) at precisely 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 GMT), embarking on a touching journey back to Earth. Expect them to land on the sprawling steppe of Kazakhstan approximately 3.5 hours later, around 9:20 p.m. EDT (0120 GMT, 6:20 a.m. local Kazakhstan time on April 20).

If you want to witness this historic moment, tune in to Space.com or NASA’s official streaming channels for the live coverage. The pre-coverage kicks off at 2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), allowing fans to witness heartfelt farewells and the ritual of closing hatches between the Soyuz and ISS at 2:25 p.m. EDT (1825 GMT).

Things get even more thrilling at 5:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT), right before undocking, and again at 8:00 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT on April 20), when the Soyuz performs its deorbit burn and descends for landing.

Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner embarked on their ISS mission on September 11, 2024. This remarkable team has spent an incredible 220 days in space—an extraordinary achievement, especially for Pettit and Ovchinin, whose flight experiences tally four, while Vagner marks his second.

However, this homecoming brings a bittersweet note for space enthusiasts everywhere. Pettit, famous for his breathtaking and imaginative photography captured beyond our planet, will be returning to Earth, leaving fans craving more of his celestial artistry.

As an added treat, Pettit will turn 70 just a day after his return on April 20. What a phenomenal way to celebrate a milestone birthday—after landing in Kazakhstan! While the clock still marks April 19 in the U.S., this could be the most memorable birthday adventure yet for the beloved astronaut.