Settembre, 2023

Oggi (27 settembre) sono rientrati sulla Terra due cosmonauti russi (Sergey Prokopyev e Dmitri Petelin) e un astronauta statunitense (Frank Rubio), usando un veicolo Soyuz MS-23 russo. Rubio ha stabilito il nuovo record statunitense di durata di una singola missione spaziale, con 371 giorni. I suoi colleghi russi sono rimasti a bordo per lo stesso tempo.

Questo è il consueto comunicato stampa della NASA:

September 27, 2023 
RELEASE 23-108
Record-Setting NASA Astronaut, Crewmates Return from Space Mission

Credits: NASA TV

After spending an American record-breaking 371 days in space, NASA astronaut
Frank Rubio safely landed on Earth with his crewmates Wednesday.

Rubio departed the International Space Station, along with Roscosmos
cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, at 3:54 a.m. EDT, and made a
safe, parachute-assisted landing at 7:17 a.m. (5:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time),
southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.

“Frank’s record-breaking time in space is not just a milestone; it’s a major
contribution to our understanding of long-duration space missions,” said NASA
Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our astronauts make extraordinary sacrifices away
from their homes and loved ones to further discovery. NASA is immensely
grateful for Frank’s dedicated service to our nation and the invaluable
scientific contributions he made on the International Space Station. He
embodies the true pioneer spirit that will pave the way for future exploration
to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”

Rubio
launched
on his first spaceflight on Sept. 21, 2022, alongside Prokopyev and Petelin.
Rubio’s spaceflight is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut,
breaking the record previously held at 355 days by NASA astronaut Mark Vande
Hei.

During his mission, Rubio completed approximately 5,936 orbits and a journey
of more than 157 million miles, roughly the equivalent of 328 trips to the
Moon and back. He witnessed the arrival of 15 visiting spacecraft and the
departure of 14 visiting spacecraft representing crewed and uncrewed cargo
missions.

Rubio’s extended mission provides researchers the opportunity to observe the
effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans as the agency plans to return
to the Moon through the
Artemis missions and prepare for
exploration of Mars.

Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin launched aboard the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft but,
due to a
coolant leak, returned to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23. The affected Soyuz MS-22 capsule
returned without its crew after the Soyuz MS-23 capsule
launched
as a replacement on Feb. 23, 2023.

Following post-landing medical checks, the crew will return to Karaganda,
Kazakhstan. Rubio will then board a NASA plane bound for his return to
Houston.

During his record-breaking mission, Rubio spent many hours on
scientific activities aboard the space station, conducting a variety of tasks ranging from plant research to physical
sciences studies.

With the undocking of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, Expedition 70 officially
began aboard the station. NASA astronauts
Loral O’Hara
and
Jasmin Moghbeli
remain aboard the orbital outpost alongside ESA (European Space Agency)
astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who became station commander Sept. 26, JAXA (Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos
cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub.

Mogensen, Moghbeli, Furukawa, and Borisov will return to Earth in February
2024, after a short handover with the crew of
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. O’Hara is scheduled to return to Earth in March 2024, while Kononenko and
Chub will spend a year aboard the station, returning in September 2024.

Stazione Spaziale Internazionale (7)

Jasmin Moghbeli (NASA) (dal 2023/08/26)

Andreas Mogensen (ESA) (dal 2023/08/26, attuale comandante della Stazione dal 2023/09/26)

Satoshi Furukawa (JAXA) (dal 2023/08/26)

Konstantin Borisov (Roscosmos) (dal 2023/08/26)

Loral O’Hara (NASA) (dal 2023/09/15)

Oleg Kononenko (Roscosmos) (dal 2023/09/15)

Nikolai Chub (Roscosmos) (dal 2023/09/15)

Stazione Nazionale Cinese (3)

Jing Haipeng (dal 2023/05/30)

Zhu Yangzhu (dal 2023/05/30)

Gui Haichao (dal 2023/05/30)

Fonte aggiuntiva:
Whoisinspace.com.