Watch NASA's record-breaking astronaut return home on a Russian spacecraft

An American will return to Earth on Wednesday after spending nearly a year on the International Space Station.

Despite the war between Russia and Ukraine continuing, NASA's Mark Vande Hei will ride back on a Russian space agency vehicle with two cosmonauts.

It will either show the continued peaceful collaboration in space between the United States and Russia, or make for an awkward trip home. Bill Nelson, the administrator of NASA, recently said he expected Vande Hei's flight to happen without a hitch.

Nelson said on a call with reporters on March 23 that the professional relationship between the astronauts and cosmonauts on board the station, as well as the professional relationship between mission control in Houston and Moscow, continues unaltered.

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei said after spending a year indoors aboard the International Space Station, he intends to spend more time in nature. Credit: NASA

That professionalism is counter to the publicity stunts pulled by the head of the Russian space agency. Vande Hei wouldn't have been left alone on the space station, as depicted in a bizarre video that was posted earlier this month. On another occasion, he showed a video of workers covering flags on a Russian rocket.

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NASA assures Vande Hei will return home safely. NASA TV will show the astronauts departure from the space station at 11:30 pm. On Tuesday. The coverage of the landing is expected to start at 6:30 a.m. On Wednesday, March 30.

Vande Hei said in a NASA video that the experience of breaking the record of most consecutive days in space gave him an idea of what he wants to do on Earth. He liked lifting the lid to smell the fresh vegetation and eating chili peppers that were grown in the lab.

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei said his favorite research on the International Space Station was growing the chili peppers. Credit: NASA

I have had an indoor job for almost a year, so I am looking forward to being outside, no matter what the weather is like.

Vande Hei and Dubrov will have spent 355 days at the space station and circled Earth 5,680 times. The record for most consecutive time spent in space is still held by the Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov. Vande Hei's duration breaks Scott Kelly's record of 340 days in space. Vande Hei will have been in space for over 500 days.

Kelly has recently attracted attention for his spats with the Russian, calling him out for threatening to crash the space station into populated places on Earth, and leaving an American stranded in space.

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Without those flags and the foreign exchange they bring in, your space program won't be worth a damn. If McDonald's still exists in Russia, you might be able to find a job there.

Kelly has ended his fight with Rogozin due to his respect for NASA and commitment to international cooperation in space.

Vande Hei and the cosmonauts will split up after landing, which is a standard crew practice. The Russian spacefarers will fly back to their training base in Star City, Russia, after the astronauts return to their home in Houston.