A Geocaching Return From Space After 75,000,000 Miles

Rick Mastracchio and the Travel Bug in Space.
Rick Mastracchio and the Travel Bug in Space.

Finally you’ll be able to post “Welcome Back to Earth” on our Facebook page!

After orbiting the Earth nearly 3,000 times over six months (and about 75,000,000 miles), astronaut Rick Mastracchio (Geocacher: AstroRM) and a very popular Travel Bug® will return home from the International Space Station. Thousands of people, at more than 700 Geocaching in Space events around the world, watched as Mastracchio and a Travel Bug rocketed into space.

Mastracchio has been living aboard the International Space Station since November of last year. He even geocached in space. He logged a First to Find on the International Space Station geocache placed by fellow geocacher Richard Garriott. He used the Travel Bug to teach students back on Earth about science and geography, interacting with them on the Travel Bug page about everything and anything to do with space.

May 13, Mastracchio and the Travel Bug will climb into a capsule and return to Earth. The event will be aired live on NASA TV. Celebrate and remember the epic adventure with the Geocaching in Space patch. And do us a favor, say a very special thanks to geocacher Cizzors for leading the charge for Rick Mastracchio to take the Travel Bug into space.

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