Live video of the docking of a Progress cargo ship with the space station

Peggy Whitson, America’s most experienced astronaut with nearly two years in orbit over three missions, returns to Earth Saturday after an extended 288-day stay aboard the International Space Station, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan with Soyuz MS-04 commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA flight engineer Jack Fischer.

Space station astronaut Kjell Lindgren said Tuesday he and commander Scott Kelly are big fans of Andy Weir’s book “The Martian,” adding they’re hopeful NASA will beam up a copy of the Ridley Scott movie as soon as it’s released.

A Proton rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the Spektr-RG X-ray astronomy mission at 1230:57 GMT (8:30:57 a.m. EDT) Saturday.