Nasa astronaut closes in on record for consecutive days in space

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Mark Vande Hei has been aboard the International Space Station since 9 April 2021, and if he returns as scheduled on 30 March, Mr Vande Hei will spend 355 consecutive days in space. Mr Vande Hei, a former US Army officer and Nasa astronaut since 2009, was originally scheduled to return to Earth in October, but his return was delayed in September to allow for a Russian filmmaker and actress to film portions of a movie aboard the ISS, the cinematic pair taking up the seats on a Soyuz spacecraft originally intended for Mr Vande Hei and Russian Cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov. Nasa is using Mr Vande Hei’s extended stay in space to study the effects of long term space flight on the human body, information that could help inform a future mission to Mars or other deep space destinations. On his first day he wrote, “It was a bit jarring going from crowds and outdoors to indoors, few windows, and few people.” On day 100, he wrote, “Phew I’m glad it is Friday … I definitely lost in my battle to remain unflustered with a Zen-like state of calm.” On day 300, Mr Vande Hei tweeted, he noted in his journal simply that, “The adventure continues.” While Mr Vande Hei will hold the Nasa record for consecutive days in space upon his return, the world record belongs to Valeri Polyakov, who flew for 437 days aboard the Russian Mir space station in 1994 and 1995.