Thomas Pesquet returns to Earth: how to see his return? – The HuffPost

NASA

SPACE – It’s the big day. After six months in orbit, Thomas Pesquet and the crew-2 astronauts from SpaceX are about to leave the International space station. A return flight that you can follow in the video at the head of the article. THE’ditching off the coast of Florida is scheduled for the night of November 8-9.

With one day behind the schedule initially planned, the four crew members of Crew-2 will be brought back to Earth by Space X’s Dragon capsule. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, as well as the Japanese Akihiko Hoshide will accompany Thomas Pesquet (from the European Space Agency) for his return to Earth.

The trip will be on board the Dragon capsule, named Endeavor. Its undocking from the International Space Station is currently scheduled for 8:05 p.m. (French time). After re-entering the atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a dizzying descent that will end at sea, somewhere off Florida.

The splashdown, or water landing, is set at 4:33 am according to the latest information from NASA. This landing is unprecedented for Thomas Pesquet, who 2017 had landed in the Kazakh steppes with the Russian Soyuz. “We will descend 8 or 9 meters per second, it’s quite fast and much stronger than a plane that lands in water”, explained the astronaut on France Inter. After the capsule has landed, the crew will be recovered as quickly as possible by ships positioned nearby.

The finish is likely to rock a little: “We already have a little seasickness when we come back on land, so there is a risk that it will be even worse”, anticipates Thomas Pesquet. The medical team on site has provided the necessary care to avoid dehydration in the event of excessive nausea, specifies AFP Adrianos Golemis, the doctor of the Alpha mission.

Thomas Pesquet will fly to Cologne

A helicopter will bring the “Crew 2” back to dry land, from where they will take a plane to the NASA space center in Houston (Texas). Thomas Pesquet, 43, will undergo rapid medical tests there. “We will monitor his blood pressure which may be low because in weightlessness, the blood has circulated in a different direction,” explains Dr. Golemis.

He will also undergo 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. “Like a little child learning to ride a bike,” says Franck De Winne, chief astronaut for the European Space Agency (ESA).

Also on the menu: tests to detect infections, especially Covid-19. The astronauts may have been 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” is over (around two hours), the Frenchman will say goodbye to his Japanese and American team-mates, who will remain in Houston. It will fly to Cologne, Germany, where the European Astronaut Center is located.

There, intense physical rehabilitation programs await him. The recovery of the French astronaut should take three weeks. “The priority is to be sure that he returns to his functions and remains in good health”, underlines Belgian astronaut Franck de Winne, who heads the center.

He will gradually regain his skills. “After a few hours, or a day at most, you can walk on your own. And a few days later, to run ”, remembers the Belgian astronaut who spent six months in the ISS.

“It’s impressive to see their speed of recovery! And it has been observed that when an astronaut flies for the second time, it is a little easier than the first ”, comments Dr Golemis.

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 relatives. “And then I hope, first week of vacation for many months,” he said on Friday. “I even feel like it’s been years”. Nevertheless, the French astronaut could well set out again in space by 2024.

See also on The HuffPost: Thomas Pesquet’s SOS on global warming from the ISS