iss072e096196 and iss072e098100 (Oct. 23, 2024) -- NASA Astronaut Don Pettit views thin wafers of ice under polarized filters on the International Space Station. Pettit conducts “science of opportunity” using station’s MELFI freezer to understand the behaviors of freezing water under microgravity conditions without gravitational buoyancy. This ice wafer was photographed between a polarized filter and a laptop display used to illuminate and cross-polarize the thin ice, giving a colorful image highlighting the fragmented crystals. This is a composite image of iss072e098100 and iss072e096196.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit poses for a portrait after donning his spacesuit, Friday, July 12, 2019 at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

ASTRONAUTS BARRY "BUTCH” WILMORE, VICTOR GLOVER, DON PETTIT AND STEPHANIE WILSON SOAR ABOVE TEST STAND 4693 IN #NASA T-38 JETS ON AUG. 9, 2016

ASTRONAUTS BARRY "BUTCH” WILMORE, VICTOR GLOVER, DON PETTIT AND STEPHANIE WILSON SOAR ABOVE TEST STAND 4693 IN #NASA T-38 JETS ON AUG. 9, 2016

ALABAMA GOVERNOR ROBERT BENTLEY GREETS ASTRONAUT DON PETTIT

Astronaut Don Pettit gives an overview of the 2017 Solar Eclipse during the viewing event at the Oregon State Fair Grounds, Salem, Oregon

iss072e005803 (Sept. 28, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit poses for a portrait inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the Harmony module's space-facing port on the International Space Station.

iss072e920821 (April 4, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit inspects a spacesuit aboard the International Space Station's Quest airlock.

iss072e920819 (April 4, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit inspects a spacesuit aboard the International Space Station's Quest airlock.

ALABAMA SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE MAC MCCUTCHEON WITH ASTRONAUT DON PETTIT AND TODD MAY

Expedition 31 flight engineer Don Pettit, with only his head visible above a shroud, is photographed in the Cupola Module. Window shutters are closed, and still cameras are positioned in front of each window

iss072e518423 (Jan. 23, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit's reflection is pictured on the helmet visor of a spacesuit in this photograph he took inside the International Space Station's Quest airlock.

T-38 JETS FLY-OVER TEST STAND 4693 AND ASTRONAUTS DON PETTIT AND VICTOR GLOVER VISIT WITH CONSTRUCTION PERSONNEL.

ASTRONAUT DON PETTIT WITH ALABAMA LT. GOVERNOR KAY IVEY AND MSFC CENTER DIRECTOR TODD MAY

Astronaut Don Pettit gives an overview of the 2017 Solar Eclipse viewing event at the Oregon State Farigrounds, Salem, Orgon.

TODD MAY, MSFC CENTER DIRECTOR, WITH ALABAMA GOVERNOR ROBERT BENTLEY AND ASTRONAUT DON PETTIT DURING 2017 NASA DAY IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

NASA ASTRONAUT DON PETTIT, RIGHT, A VETERAN OF THREE SPACEFLIGHTS, DISCUSSES CUBESAT TECHNOLOGY WITH UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN TUSCALOOSA STUDENTS, FROM LEFT, DAVID ENGLERT, MADISON KOONTZ AND CONNOR BURLESON.

iss072e189187 (Nov. 15, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit works on weekend housekeeping duties inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module.

iss072e188983 (Nov. 15, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit takes a break and poses for a portrait aboard the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module.

iss072e069743 (Oct. 19, 2024) --- The fingers of NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit are refracted in this sphere of water in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station.

iss072e005823 (Sept. 29, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit works on maintenance activities aboard the International Space Station's Harmony module.

iss072e002337 (Sept. 27, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit works on maintenance activities aboard the International Space Station's Harmony module.

iss072e009412 (Oct. 1, 2024) --- Expedition 72 Flight Engineers (from left) Don Pettit and Mike Barratt, both NASA astronauts, pose for a portrait together aboard the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module.

jsc2025e041770 (April 28, 2025) --- NASA astronaut Don Pettit participates in a news conference at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He discussed his mission aboard the International Space Station where he lived and worked for 220 days as an Expedition 72 Flight Engineer.

jsc2025e041765 (April 28, 2025) --- NASA astronaut Don Pettit participates in a news conference at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He discussed his mission aboard the International Space Station where he lived and worked for 220 days as an Expedition 72 Flight Engineer.

ISS031-E-035391 (12 May 2012) --- NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Expedition 31 flight engineer, took this picture of a four-inch polished metal sphere in the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory on May 12, 2012 using a 28mm lens. A close look of the sphere reveals a mirrored Pettit.

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit, speaks about his experience onboard the International Space Station at a NASA Social exploring science on the ISS at NASA Headquarters, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit, speaks about his experience onboard the International Space Station at a NASA Social exploring science on the ISS at NASA Headquarters, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit, speaks about his experience onboard the International Space Station at a NASA Social exploring science on the ISS at NASA Headquarters, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

iss072e742488 (March 2, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit injects yellow ink into a ball of water shaped by microgravity and attached to research hardware by surface tension. Pettit was demonstrating simple space physics phenomena inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module.

iss072e645862 (Feb. 21, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit is pictured inside the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft docked to the International Space Station's Rassvet module. Pettit was participating in a regularly scheduled seat fit check.

iss072e661836 (Feb. 28, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit poses for a portrait inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. Attached to Pettit's legs are a notebook and a variety of tools used for research and maintenance operations aboard the orbital outpost.

iss072e742508 (March 2, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit stares at a ball of water shaped by microgravity and attached to research hardware by surface tension. Pettit was demonstrating simple space physics phenomena inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is seen in quarantine, behind glass, during a press conference, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 a the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, 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)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is seen in quarantine, behind glass, during a press conference, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 a the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, 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)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is seen during the State Commission meeting to approve the Soyuz launch of the Expedition 72 crew to the International Space Station, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, 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)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is seen in quarantine, behind glass, during a press conference, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 a the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, 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)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit takes a selfie with an attendee following a panel discussion at the Embassy of Slovenia, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Washington. Pettit, and fellow NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams served as part of Expedition 72 onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

iss072e350835 (Dec. 7, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit points a camera outside a window on the International Space Station's Poisk module for a sun photography session.

iss072e782399 (March 15, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit sets up camera hardware to photograph research activities inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module.

iss072e363878 (Dec. 9, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedtion 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit took this photograph of a U.S. spacesuit helmet with his reflection prominent on the helmet's visor inside the International Space Station's Quest airlock.

ISS031-E-41594 (20 May 2012) --- This is one of a series of photos taken by Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station, showing a shadow of the moon created by the May 20 solar eclipse, as the shadow spreads across cloud cover on Earth. Pettit used a 28-mm lens on a digital still camera to record the image at 23:35:17 GMT. One of the space station’s solar array panels appears at the top of the frame.

ISS031-E-41595 (20 May 2012) --- This is one of a series of photos taken by Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station, at the time located over the Western Pacific, showing a shadow of the moon created by the May 20 solar eclipse, as the shadow spreads across cloud cover on Earth. Pettit used a 28-mm lens on a digital still camera to record the image at 23:35:36 GMT. One of the space station’s solar array panels appears at the top of the frame.

ISS031-E-41622 (20 May 2012) --- This is one of a series of photos taken by Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station, at the time located over the Western Pacific, showing a shadow of the moon created by the May 20 solar eclipse, as the shadow spreads across cloud cover on Earth. Pettit used a 28-mm lens on a digital still camera to record the image at 23:36:45 GMT. One of the space station’s solar array panels appears at the top of the frame.

iss072e278609 (Nov. 26, 2024) --- The Large Magellanic Cloud among a starry backdrop above Earth's atmospheric glow highlights this long duration photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit

iss072e311451 (Dec. 3, 2024) --- The Sun's glint beams off one of the many rivers that snake throughout South America's fertile, low grasslands region, also known as the Pampas. The International Space Station was orbiting 261 miles above the border of Paraguay and Argentina at the time of this photograph. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit

iss072e281303 (Nov. 29, 2024) --- Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Don Pettit, both NASA astronauts, pose for a portrait in front of the Advanced Plant Habitat located inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. The Plant Habitat provides a large, enclosed, environmentally controlled chamber designed to support commercial and fundamental plant research in microgravity.

iss072e188539 (Nov. 15, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit unpacks and gathers research hardware to be placed outside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. The scientific gear known as MISSE, or Materials International Space Station Experiment, places a variety of materials in the vacuum of space exposing them to the extreme thermal environment, different types of radiation, micrometeoroids, and more to promote the space industry.

iss072e098102 (Oct. 23, 2024) -- 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.

iss072e747148 (March 18, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit inserts research hardware into the Combustion Integrated Rack located inside the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module. Pettit was configuring the SoFIE-MIST, or the Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction - Material Ignition and Suppression Test, investigation that is exploring the flammability of materials in microgravity to improve spacecraft fire safety.

iss072e747154 (March 18, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit inserts research hardware into the Combustion Integrated Rack located inside the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module. Pettit was configuring the SoFIE-MIST, or the Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction - Material Ignition and Suppression Test, investigation that is exploring the flammability of materials in microgravity to improve spacecraft fire safety.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit speaks about his time onboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 72, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, during an employee engagement event at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Don Pettit served as part of Expedition 72 onboard the orbiting laboratory. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit speaks about his time onboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 72, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, during an employee engagement event at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Don Pettit served as part of Expedition 72 onboard the orbiting laboratory. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit speaks about his time onboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 72, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, during an employee engagement event at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Don Pettit served as part of Expedition 72 onboard the orbiting laboratory. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

iss072e096874 (Oct. 22, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit looks out a window on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft as the International Space Station orbited 269 miles above the Pacific Ocean of the coast of Chile.

PHOTO DATE: 06-23-11 LOCATION: Bld 9NW SUBJECT: Expedition 29 crew members, Dan Burbank, Don Pettit and Andre Kuiper during EVA Fluid QD Ops with instructor Sandra Moore WORK ORDER: 2011-1643 PHOTOGRAPHER: James Blair

iss072e403381 (Dec. 24, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit removes the small satellite orbital deployer from the Kibo laboratory module's airlock after several CubeSats were deployed outside the International Space Station into Earth orbit for educational research.

iss072e350819 (Dec. 7, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit points a camera outside a window on the International Space Station's Poisk module for a sun photography session with assistance from Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner.

iss072e143154 (Oct. 30, 2024) --- Expedition 72 Flight Engineers (from left) Don Pettit and Butch Wilmore, both NASA astronauts, remove a small satellite deployer from inside the Kibo laboratory module's airlock that had earlier deployed several CubeSats into Earth orbit for a series of technology studies.

iss072e363109 (Dec. 13, 2024) --- NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Don Pettit, Expedition 72 Commander and Flight Engineer respectively, take a break from science maintenance activities and pose for a selfie-portrait aboard the International Space Station's Harmony module.

iss072e033530 (Oct. 10, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit works inside the Kibo laboratory module checking out biology imaging hardware, the Tele-Luminescence Analysis System (TELLAS), that can detect space-caused inflammatory changes to tissues and genes in organisms.

iss072e350829 (Dec. 7, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit points a camera outside a window on the International Space Station's Poisk module for a sun photography session with assistance from Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner.

iss072e280684 (Nov. 24, 2024) --- 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.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit signs a certificate and letter before a Silver Snoopy award presentation, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Pettit served as part of Expedition 72 onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

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

NASA astronaut Don Pettit puts his hand up to the bus window and his family reaches back to him, as he and fellow crew mates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, depart the Cosmonaut Hotel to suit-up for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station, 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)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit receives the traditional blessing at the Cosmonaut Hotel prior to departing for suit-up and launch on a Soyuz rocket with fellow crew mates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, 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)

Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA is helped out of the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule after he and Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, and Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit, left, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan Vagner, right, wave from a bus as they and fellow crew mate, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, depart the Cosmonaut Hotel to suit-up for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station, 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)

Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, left and NASA Internationl Space Station Science Officer Don Pettit talk about their landing during the flight from Kazakhstan to Moscow, Tuesday, May 4, 2003. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 28 NASA backup Flight Engineer Don Pettit looks on during a press conference, Monday, June 6, 2011, at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The mission is set to launch on Tuesday, June 8, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

NASA backup Flight Engineer Don Pettit speaks during a press conference, Monday, June 6, 2011, at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The mission is set to launch on Tuesday, June 8, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

ISS031-E-012220 (5 May 2012) --- A close-up view of the galley in the Unity node photographed by an Expedition 31 crew member on the International Space Station. A long spoon, stuck to double-sided tape is visible in the foreground. This image was used during a Saturday Morning Science session with NASA astronaut Don Pettit, flight engineer.

iss072e007238 (Oct. 1, 2024) --- The non-periodic Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is pictured seemingly above Earth's atmosphere though it was actually about 235 million miles away and heading for a trip around the Sun. The International Space Station was orbiting 272 miles above the southern Atlantic Ocean in between the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands at the time of this photograph. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit

NASA astronaut Don Pettit, center, walks and smiles, while supported by NASA Flight Surgeons Quinn Dufurrena, left, Rainer Effenhauser, right, and Richard Scheuring, background, during a brief layover in Prestwick, Scotland during his return flight to Houston from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, Sunday, April 20, 2025. Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, returned to Earth earlier in the day after logging 220 days in space as members of Expeditions 71 and 72 aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Support and medical personnel assist Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA out of the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule shortly after he and Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, and Flight Engineers Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA is helped out of a Russian Search and Rescue helicopter after it carried him from the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule landing site in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan to Karaganda on Sunday, July 1, 2012 in Kazakhstan. Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Pettit and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency landed in their Soyuz TMA-03M capsule in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan after serving more than six months onboard the International Space Station as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, answers a question during a panel discussion at the Embassy of Slovenia alongside fellow NASA astronauts Don Pettit, Suni Williams, and Nick Hague, Robyn Gatens, director of International Space Station and acting director of the Commercial Space Flight Division of NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, Lee Echerd,, senior mission manager and commercial crew program lead at SpaceX, and Marko Novak, advisor of management board at Dewesoft Slovenia, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Washington. Hague, Wilmore, Williams, and Pettit served as part of Expedition 72 onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, center, dons his Russian Sokol suit as and fellow crew mates, NASA astronaut Don Pettit, left, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan Vagner, prepare for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station 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/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, left, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, right, wave as they depart the Cosmonaut Hotel to suit-up for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station, 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)

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)

Expedition 30 NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Don Pettit performs the traditional door signing Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Pettit was launched onboard the Soyuz rocket the same evening with Expedition 30 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andre Kuiperson a mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is helped into his Russian Sokol suit as he and fellow crew mates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, prepare for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station 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/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, left, and NASA astronaut Don Pettit, are seen as they prepare to have their Russian Sokol suits pressure checked as they and fellow crew mate, Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan Vagner, prepare for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station 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)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit has his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked as he and fellow crew mates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, prepare for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station 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/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Expedition 30 NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Don Pettit performs the traditional door signing Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Pettit was launched onboard the Soyuz rocket the same evening with Expedition 30 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andre Kuiperson a mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, left, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, right, wave as they depart the Cosmonaut Hotel to suit-up for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station, 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/Victor Zelentsov)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit waits to have his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked as he and fellow crew mates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, prepare for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station 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)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit has his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked as he and fellow crew mates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, prepare for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station 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/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit waits to have his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked as he and fellow crew mates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, prepare for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station 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)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit has his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked as he and fellow crew mates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, prepare for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station 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/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is helped into his Russian Sokol suit as he and fellow crew mates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, prepare for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station 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/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

NASA astronauts Don Pettit, left, and Nick Hague, right, pose for a photo with NASA Range Operations Contract Engineer Manager at Wallops Flight Facility, Joseph Jimmerson, at his Silver Snoopy award presentation event, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Pettit and Hague served as part of Expedition 72 onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit speaks to Cynthia Simmons, acting center director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, before a Silver Snoopy award presentation, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Pettit served as part of Expedition 72 onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

iss072e861726 (March 28, 2025) --- NASA astronauts Don Pettit and Nichole Ayers, both Expedition 72 Flight Engineers, prepare the NanoRacks External Platform with its grapple fixture attached for stowage aboard the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. The commercial research platform housed three different electrical and optical experiments that tested operations while exposed to the vacuum of space.

iss072e517816 (Jan. 21, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit displays HUNCH (High school students United with NASA to Create Hardware) gear inside the International Space Station's Unity module. The HUNCH mission empowers and inspires high school students to learn 21st-century skills and particpate in the design and fabrication of real-world tools for NASA.

iss072e280736 (Nov. 26, 2024) --- NASA astronauts (from left) Don Pettit and Butch Wilmore, both Expedition 72 flight engineers, pack external research hardware removed from the Kibo laboratory module's airlock. The hardware housed a variety of samples exposed to the vacuum of space such as polymers, photovoltaic devices, and more. The samples will be returned to Earth and examined to understand how space radiation, the extreme thermal environment, micrometeoroids, and more affect materials possibly benefitting the space industry.

iss072e404007 (Dec. 27, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit stows plant samples inside a science freezer aboard the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module. Also called MELFI, or the Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS, the cold stowage research device preserves experiment samples at ultra-cold temperatures in microgravity for later return to Earth and analysis.

iss072e451296 (Jan. 8, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit works in the Destiny laboratory module's Combustion Integrated Rack swapping samples of materials to observe how they burn in weightlessness. The investigation taking place inside the International Space Station's CIR enables the safe observation of flames and how they spread in microgravity potentially improving fire safety on crew missions.

iss072e861721 (March 28, 2025) --- NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Don Pettit, both Expedition 72 Flight Engineers, extract the NanoRacks External Platform from the Kibo laboratory module's airlock aboard the International Space Station. The commercial research platform housed three different electrical and optical experiments that tested operations while exposed to the vacuum of space.