NASA astronaut Nicole Mann gives a thumbs up after being helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard a recovery ship shortly after she, along with NASA astronauts Josh Cassada, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa, Fla., Saturday, March 11, 2023, following a five-month mission on the International Space Station. (Keegan Barber/NASA via AP)
An astronaut from Petaluma has returned to Earth. Forty-Five year-old Nicole Mann and three astronauts under her command splashed down into the Gulf of Mexico Saturday night after spending 157 days on the International Space Station. During her time in space, Mann participated in two space walks and conducted hundreds of experiments with her team. She is the first Native American woman in space being a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in Northern California.