NAfter six months on the International Space Station, the four astronauts returned to Earth. The so-called “Crew-2”-consisting of French Esa astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide-separated from the International Space Station on Monday, and landed in the Astronaut about eight hours later. As announced by NASA, the surface of Florida, the United States.
Pesquite talked about the “proud event” representing France’s entry into space on Twitter. “Is it the moon next time?” the 43-year-old asked astronautAfter landing, he must undergo some medical examinations before returning to the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne. Many other tests are planned there to examine the effects of staying in space for a long time on the human body.
Diaper wearing “sub-optimal”
The fact that the returnees were wearing diapers when they landed on Earth did not affect their sense of pride: because the toilet on the “Crew Dragon”, a space company owned by Elon Musk, was broken, four astronauts went to the ISS in April to help Help until the return journey. This is “sub-optimal”, MacArthur said in a press conference beforehand. “But there are many small challenges in space travel, and we are ready to deal with these challenges.”
After being released from the dock, the spacecraft, which also loaded about 250 kilograms of scientific experiments, first flew around the space station again to take photos of the upcoming repairs. According to NASA, the “Crew-2” has stayed in space for 199 days so far, longer than any other US-controlled manned space mission. “We are very pleased that Shane, Megan, Aki and Thomas have successfully returned to Earth after successfully completing their long-term mission to the International Space Station,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
The undock of “Crew-2” was originally scheduled to take place on Sunday, but due to bad weather conditions, it was temporarily postponed to Monday. German astronaut Matthias Maurer and his “Crew-3” can go to the International Space Station as early as Thursday morning (Central European Time).
The 51-year-old Saarlander originally planned to leave on the last weekend of October, but it has been delayed several times due to bad weather and a “minor medical problem” from a crew member. NASA said that this problem may be resolved at the beginning, and initially made a pleasant forecast of the weather on the current scheduled date.
The German who entered space for the first time in three years
For the first time in three years, German astronauts flew into space with Maurer. It will take off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida with NASA colleagues Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron. The four astronauts will also be transported in the “Crew Dragon”.
Through this flight, Maurer will become the twelfth German in space, the fourth on the International Space Station, and the first person to fly there with the “Crew Dragon”. On the International Space Station, astronauts from the European Space Agency (ESA) will conduct a large number of experiments for about six months at an altitude of about 400 kilometers, and may also complete an outdoor mission. The last time a German Esa astronaut entered space was Alexander Gerst in 2018.
In fact, it is planned to transfer between “Crew-2” and “Crew-3” on the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Kimbrecht said at a press conference that this has failed now, but this is not a problem. Now, this mission will be taken over by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who came to the International Space Station in April with astronauts Oleg Nowizki and Pyotr Dubrow.
Maurer tweeted on Monday that he hoped that “Crew-2” would return home safely. “It’s a pity that we won’t’fly’ each other on the space station, but we believe you will keep everything tidy.”
