On September 27, 2023, Frank Rubio touched down on earth’s soil for the first time since September of last year.  His landing marked the longest sustained space trip in American history.

Rubio’s mission on launch day was simple: to live on the international space station for a full year. NASA sent Rubio on this mission in order to understand the long-term effects of living in space. NASA also wanted to experiment with different plant species to see how they would adjust to the unique conditions. Rubio lived on the space station for about 371 days, completing “approximately 5,936 orbits of the Earth and a journey of more than 157 million miles.”  

Throughout his time in space, he focused primarily on growing tomatoes through different styles of plant growth, as well as studying the science behind controlling robots on the surface of planets while being in orbit. While seemingly mundane, these studies are actually extremely important for our eventual attempt to colonize mars, something that NASA has viewed as a priority for many years now. More research is needed, however, on both the high tech side and the subtle parts of space life in order for humans to be fully prepared for living on a foreign planet like Mars.

Rubio is set to speak in front of a live audience on October 13th on NASA television. He is expected to cover the results of his research, as well the effects of the trip on his body and mental health. While the details of his experiments are still unknown, NASA has expressed that his trip was a resounding success. The scientific community is optimistic about Rubio’s conference, and many are eagerly waiting for the results of his research.