Col. Mark Vande Hei recently returned to Earth after logging 168 days as a flight engineer onboard the International Space Station. During the mission (Expedition 53/54), the crew marked the beginning of the first long-term increase in crew size on the U.S. segment of the space station. This increase enabled NASA to double the time dedicated to research and achieve a record-setting week of research that surpassed 100 hours. The crew members worked on investigations focused on manufacturing fiber optic filaments in microgravity, improving the accuracy of an implantable glucose biosensor, and measuring the sun’s energy output to Earth.