NASA Astronaut Loral O'Hara Returns to Earth after Successful Research Mission

Houston, April 6, 2024 - Expedition 70 NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya, safely landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. O'Hara, who completed a six-month research mission, returned to Earth after spending 204 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The trio departed the ISS aboard the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft on April 5 at 11:54 p.m. EDT. They made a parachute-assisted landing southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 3:17 a.m. on April 6 (12:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time). O'Hara launched on September 15, 2023, alongside cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, who will continue their one-year mission aboard the ISS.

O'Hara's first spaceflight involved conducting various scientific activities to support NASA's Artemis campaign. Her research focused on heart health, cancer treatments, and space manufacturing techniques, all in preparation for future missions to the Moon and Mars. Throughout her journey, O'Hara completed approximately 3,264 orbits around the Earth, covering a distance of more than 86.5 million miles.

After undergoing post-landing medical checks, the crew will move to the recovery staging city in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. O'Hara will then board a NASA aircraft, flying her back to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

With the departure of O'Hara, Novitskiy, and Vasilevskaya, Expedition 71 officially begins aboard the ISS. The current team, comprising NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Tracy C. Dyson, and Jeannette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko, will continue their mission until fall.

Stay updated on space station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on social media platforms and visiting the ISS Facebook, ISS Instagram, and the space station blog.

For further information, contact Joshua Finch, Julian Coltre, or Claire O'Shea at NASA headquarters in Washington at 202-358-1100 or via email at joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov, julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov, or claire.a.o'shea@nasa.gov. Contact Sandra Jones at the Johnson Space Center in Houston at 281-483-5111 or sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov.

About NASA:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an organization that explores the unknown in air and space, focuses on innovation for the betterment of humanity, and inspires the world through scientific discovery.

(Source: NASA)