Who is Don Pettit, the oldest active astronaut, who returned to Earth on his 70th birthday?

American astronaut Don Pettit turned 70 years old as he landed back on Earth after a seven-month-mission in space.

According to a report in The Telegraph, the Soyuz capsule carrying Pettit and two Russian cosmonauts landed on Sunday morning, hours after undocking from the ISS.

Nasa said Pettit was “doing well and in the range of what is expected for him following return to Earth”.

He is expected to travel to the Kazakh city of Karaganda and spend some time readjusting to gravity before boarding a Nasa plane to the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Texas.

Here's everything you need to know about the veteran spaceman, as reported by Mint:

Who is Don Pettit?

Donald Roy Pettit is an American astronaut and chemical engineer, known for his long career and groundbreaking contributions to science and technology. He is also known for his orbital astrophotography. He was born on April 20, 1955.

Pettit's space career

Pettit first went to space in 2002 on Expedition 6 aboard the ISS. Initially a backup, he was was called upon at the last minute to replace astronaut Donald Thomas due to medical concerns.

He went on three more missions throughout his career, the STS-126 in 2008 and Expedition 30/31 from 2011-2012.

In his latest mission, he spent 220 days in space, orbiting the Earth 3,520 times and completing a journey of 93.3 million miles over the course of their mission.

Pettit has accumulated more than 590 days in space—more than any other American male astronaut.

What is the record that Pettit holds?

As of 2025, at the age of 70, Pettit remains NASA's oldest active astronaut and the second-oldest person to have ever reached orbit, only behind John Glenn.

What is the Zero-G Cup?

Pettit, during his time on the ISS, designed the Zero-G Cup, an invention which eliminates the need for straws in microgravity. The cup uses the surface tension of fluids to carry liquids along a crease, making it easier to drink in zero gravity.

This was the first-ever patent for an object created in space.