Return from space in the time of the corona

Three crew members of the International Space Station have safely returned to Earth despite the pandemic. The Russian space agency announced that there are infected among its employees.

American astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka landed in Kazakhstan on Friday, successfully ending their months-long stay at the International Space Station ISS, which is 400 kilometers above Earth.

The Russian space agency Roscosmos has ruled out delaying the return from the International Space Station due to the pandemic. According to Russian information, the medical staff and other employees who helped the returnees from space immediately after exiting the Soyuz capsule were under close surveillance for almost four weeks. They were also tested for the corona virus. The usual meeting with families and media awaiting the landing of the astronauts was cancelled.

A hard journey on Earth

After the first health checks of the vegetable from space on the spot and transportation by helicopter to the Baikonur spaceport, the Russian was taken to the Star City near Moscow, and the two Americans had to drive first to Kisilorda, 300 kilometers away, and then by NASA plane to Houston.

Kazakh restrictions on international air traffic made such a long trip necessary, said Vyacheslav Rogozhnikov, who was responsible for the crew's return. "The 300-kilometer journey after landing is quite a burden for the astronauts," he said, adding that Russia would provide doctors to help the astronauts during the journey, if needed.

News about the pandemic and in space

The three space travelers also heard news of the pandemic on the International Space Station. But it was hard to really understand the situation, Morgan said before returning. He arrived at the ISS on July 20, 2019 and spent 272 days in space.

And Meir, who spent 205 days in space, described what is happening on this planet of ours as "unreal." Before returning to Earth, she said: "We can tell you that the view of Earth from here is breathtaking, as always, so that it's hard to believe all the changes that have taken place since the two of us have been up there."

Corona and in the Russian space agency

On Thursday, the Russian government reported the first corona virus infection at Star City, the main training center for ISS crew members. And the Russian space agency announced that it has 42 cases of infection in its ranks.

Despite this, under strict security measures related to the pandemic, cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Wagner and American astronaut Christopher Cassidy arrived at the ISS last Sunday.