NASA's Soyuz crew lands on Earth from ISS after 195 days mission

Russian space agency Roscosmos’ astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner landed on Earth at 10:54 p.m. EDT in Kazakhstan on October 21 post completion of 195-day mission. The three crew members had departed to International Space Station (ISS) in early April and had remained there for over 6 months. The trio touched down on Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft at 7:32 pm in the Kazakhstan desert area, interestingly, having remained in space most of the coronavirus pandemic months. 

According to a NASA release, prior to their departure in space, the crew had undergone strict quarantine measures. Astronaut Cassidy was asked to isolate in Russia’s Star City ahead of the spacecraft’s launch into the ISS. He then spent a total of 378 days in space, which makes him the fifth-highest space-time crew member. Rigorous post-landing medical checks have been arranged for the trio before they head for their homeward journey. While Cassidy will return to Houston on board a NASA plane, Vagner and Ivanishin will return to Russia’s Star City. The cosmonauts and astronauts performed over 20 years of crewed operations aboard ISS before safely returning to Earth. 

Ahead of their return on the Earth, Astronaut Cassidy Tweeted pictures of himself with a caption, “Getting suited up for return!” He had also tweeted seven tubes of blood placed in a deep freezer, asking, what the price of a return ride back to Earth was. A former U.S. Navy SEAL, Cassidy said at a press conference in March that he had gone through tough isolation before heading to ISS. He further added, had he been in a normal quarantine, he’d probably have gone to some restaurants or would have left the immediate parameters of the Star City area. But not this time, there were strict regulations due to the pandemic. 

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission

The crew was launched from Site 31 Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and arrived on the ISS on April 9. After their return from the ISS, there is three-person more crew of Expedition 64 to take in charge. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, and station commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos reached ISS on October 13. Meanwhile, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission targeted to launch in November will increment the crew to seven people for the first time with astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

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