Ground personnel carry NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei after landing of the Soyuz MS-06 space capsule in a remote area outside the town of Dzhezkazgan , Kazakhstan, on February 28, 2018.Two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut returned tNASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei is about to feel the weight of Earth's gravity for the first time in nearly a year when he lands in Kazakhstan on Wednesday along with two Russian cosmonauts.
In a recent interview from space, Vande Hei said he promised his wife, whom he has not seen in person since January, that this will be his last spaceflight. He said he's looking forward to being "physically present" for his family.
"I can tell you for sure Mark is coming home on that Soyuz. We are in communication with our Russian colleagues. There's no fuzz on that. The three crew members are coming home: Anton, Pyotr and Mark," NASA ISS program manager Joel Montalbano For anyone worried about Vande Hei's safety, Montalbano said there would be a contingent of about 20 people to welcome him.