On October 22, 2020, a trio of space travellers comprising one American and two Russian who lived on space station for six months returned safely to Earth. The Soyuz MS-16 capsule carrying NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, and Roscosmos’ Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner landed on the steppes of Kazakhstan southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan.
After a brief medical check-up, the three were reported to be in good condition. As part of additional precautions due to the coronavirus, the rescue team members meeting the crew were tested for the virus and the number of people involved in the recovery effort was limited.
The trio was then taken by helicopters to Dzhezkazgan from where Cassidy boarded a NASA plane back to Houston, while Ivanishin and Vagner flew home to Star City, Russia.
Cassidy, Ivanishin, and Vagner spent 196 days in orbit, having arrived at the station on April 9, 2020. Cassidy, who completed his third space mission, holds the record of spending a total of 378 days in space, the fifth highest among U.S. astronauts.
Before the crew’s departure, Russian cosmonauts were able to temporarily seal the air leak they tried to locate for several months. The small leak has posed no immediate danger to the station’s crew, and Roscosmos engineers have been working on a permanent seal.
Courtesy: Associated Press, National Herald, The New Indian Express