Birthday in space, home for the celebration: Don Pettit’s remarkable 220 days on the journey of Expedition 72 aboard the ISS

NASA astronaut Don Pettit flashes a smile as he holds a birthday cake aboard the International Space Station, celebrating his 70th birthday in zero gravity.

NASA astronauts Don Pettit and Suni Williams, Expedition 72 flight engineer and commander respectively, pose for a fun holiday season portrait while speaking on a ham radio inside the International Space Station's Columbus laboratory module.

Image Credit: NASA

Soyuz MS-26 crew members (from left) NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner pose for a portrait at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia. Credit: GCTC
Image Credit: (NASA) GCTC/Andrey Shelepin

NASA astronauts (from left) Butch Wilmore and Don Pettit, both Expedition 72 flight engineers, install the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device inside the International Space Station's Columbus laboratory module. The futuristic exercise gear will be tested by the station crew using its advanced bicycling, rowing, and resistive capabilities. The small and compact workout gear will be evaluated in the orbital outpost’s microgravity environment before being used on longer term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Image Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit is pictured setting up one of his "Science of Opportunity" experiments aboard the International Space Station. For this specific experiment, Pettit grew thin wafers of water ice using the orbiting lab's freezer, and photographed them in front of a white, blank computer screen and polarizing filter to display the colorful fragments of ice crystals.

The Expedition 72 crew poses for a portrait inside the International Space Station's Harmony module with a cake commemorating a total of 3,000 cumulative days in space gained between the individual crew members. In the front row (from left), are Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan vagner, NASA astronaut Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. In the back (from left), are NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, and NASA astronaut Suni Williams.

Image Credit: NASA

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, left, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, right, receive the traditional blessing at the Cosmonaut Hotel prior to departing for suit-up and launch on a Soyuz rocket, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The launch will send Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner on a mission to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bishop Ignatii of Kyzylorda and Aktobe blesses the Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome site 31 launch in Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, left, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, right, meet with NASA and Roscosmos managers prior to boarding the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft for launch, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket will send the trio on a mission to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, left, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, right, meet with NASA and Roscosmos managers prior to boarding the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft for launch, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket will send the trio on a mission to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, onboard, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, with NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner aboard, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, with NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner aboard, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin gestures as he sits outside after landing in a Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft with fellow cosmonaut Ivan Vagner and NASA astronaut Don Pettit in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan Vagner gestures as he is carried to a medical tent shortly after landing in a Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft with fellow cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and NASA astronaut Don Pettit near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)

​​NASA astronaut Don Pettit gestures as he is carried to a medical tent shortly after landing in a Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)