Return of Thomas Pesquet to Earth: astronauts will have to wear diapers in SpaceX’s capsule – teller report

It is an improbable situation that Thomas Pesquet and his colleagues will experience. The Frenchman and three other astronauts will leave the International Space Station on Sunday, November 7. NASA says crew should land off Florida “not earlier” that Monday at 12:14 GMT (13:14 in France), after having spent more than six months in space. Yes, but here it is, the toilets of the Crew Dragon capsule would be defective, reports the British daily The Independent. The leak was reportedly discovered when the astronauts “removed from the floor panels”, in preparation for the return trip.

Because of this problem, pilots will have to wear diapers – or at least an equivalent – during the 20 hours of the flight. NASA thus speaks of “underwear” absorbents. US astronaut Megan McArthur said on Friday that the situation was “of course not optimal” but that the crew would face this inconvenience. “Space flights are filled with many little challenges. It is just one more that we will encounter and take care of in our mission. So we are not too worried about that.”, she added during a briefing from space.

The crew of Crew-2, made up of Thomas Pesquet, the Japanese Akihiko Hoshide and the Americans Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, will return to Earth on Monday, November 8. They will therefore not wait for the arrival on board the ISS of the four astronauts from Crew-3, whose take-off has been delayed several times, in particular because of the weather.

After returning to Earth and some tests to check his health in Florida, the 43-year-old engineer will be transported very quickly to Cologne, Germany, where the European Astronaut Center is located. He will follow there “for three weeks an intense fitness program”, and will be subjected to the same tests as before and during its stay in zero gravity, in order to contribute to the collection of scientific data on the effect of a long stay in orbit on the human body. “And then I hope, first week of vacation for many months”, he has already announced with humor.