NASA's Pioneering Astronaut Set to Return From Longest ISS Mission Yet

April 19 (UPI) -- NASA astronaut Don Pettinett is set to return to Earth this Saturday along with his two Russian cosmonaut counterparts after their time aboard the International Space Station.

Petty, Alexei Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner are expected to land Outside the city of Dzhekazgan, Kazakhstan, using a parachute at 9:20 PM EDT on Saturday.

The group will start the process of detaching their Soyuz MS-26 spaceship from the ISS at 5:57 p.m. EDT.

NASA will stream the procedure on its website.

Since the landing is scheduled for 6:20 a.m. local time, it coincidentally falls on Pettit's 70th birthday. He is the oldest active member of NASA's astronaut core.

Pettit handed over control of the International Space Station on Friday. during a ceremony, transferring command to Japanese Aerospace Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi for the beginning of Expedition 73.

Last month, the unmanned Cygnus spacecraft delivered over 4 tons of provisions and freight to the International Space Station.

The three individuals will circle our planet 3,520 times over the course of their 220-day stay in space before they return to Earth.

Pettit acted as the flight engineer on the International Space Station during Expeditions 71 and 72. He has now accomplished four space missions with an accumulated time of 590 days in orbit.

Following their recuperation, the three individuals will travel by helicopter to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, then go separate ways—Ovchinin and Vagner will proceed to Star City, Russia, whereas a NASA aircraft will transport Pettit to Houston.