Space: the team of French astronaut Thomas Pesquet on the way to Earth
French astronaut Thomas Pesquet aboard the International Space Station.
AP
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The mission is drawing to a close for Thomas Pesquet, who spent with his teammates more than six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Their Dragon spacecraft, from the company SpaceX, began the return trip to Earth on Monday, October 8.
Landing off Florida scheduled for the next few hours.
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One hundred and ninety-eight days, and it's over.
End of the Alpha mission for Thomas Pesquet aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
He boarded SpaceX's Dragon capsule to return to Earth.
It is the same capsule which had made the way to go last April.
The teammates are also the same: Americans Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, as well as Japanese Akihiko Hoshide.
If we say that the launch of the rocket is the most perilous stage of a space trip, the return is not easy for all that.
It takes ten hours: first you have to undock from the station, which is what is done, then proceed with a series of maneuvers to reduce the altitude of the machine, until it rubs against the layers more dense atmosphere.
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To read also: In the "cockpit" of the International Space Station
Several thousand degrees outside
These maneuvers slow down the machine, but also heat it up.
It is indeed several thousand degrees outside.
It is the heat shield that takes the shock.
When things calm down, a series of parachutes open before the capsule lands off Florida.
This landing is a first for Thomas Pesquet, who in 2017 landed in the Kazakh steppes with the Russian Soyuz.
The four crew members will then be picked up by a NASA boat.
It is only after their return to Cape Canaveral that they will be able, more than six months after their take-off, to set foot again on dry land.
Bittersweet feeling about leaving the ISS.
When you think about it, it's really a magical place, almost impossible to reach and which gives you superpowers like flying, or going around the world in 1h30 ... It still looks a bit like a daydream ... #MissionAlpha pic.twitter.com/5slsjeJ3DH
- Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) November 8, 2021
Getting used to gravity again
From Florida, Thomas Pesquet and his teammates will board a plane for the NASA Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The French will undergo rapid medical tests and neurological examinations.
His body having floated for six months, his balance system will have to get used to gravity again, and learn to stand up again.
It is therefore necessary to support the astronauts on their return to prevent any fall, especially since they have lost bone density, increasing the risk of fracture.
Also on the menu: tests to detect infections, especially Covid-19.
The residents of the ISS may have vaccinated before their departure, their immune systems will be weakened after their stay in space, and will take two weeks to recover.
Once this "check-up" of about two hours is over, the Frenchman will say goodbye to his Japanese and American teammates, who will remain in Houston.
It will fly to Cologne, Germany, where the European Astronaut Center is located.
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Also read: French astronaut Thomas Pesquet at the controls of the ISS
Get back in shape
Three weeks of intense physical rehabilitation program awaits him.
Thomas Pesquet will gradually rework the muscles supporting the spine, inactivated for six months.
He will gradually regain his skills.
The astronaut will be subjected to the same tests as before and during his mission, in order to contribute to the collection of scientific data on the effect of microgravity on the human body.
Although restrictive, the program will not prevent the astronaut from seeing his loved ones, before taking a first vacation in six months.
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To reread
: Science in space (Thomas Pesquet's logbook)
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Space
Thomas Pesquet
France