ESA - Horizons Mission patch.
20 December 2018
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst returned to Earth today alongside NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Prokopyev.
Horizons landing
Image above: ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst landed on Earth for the second time on 20 December 2018 together with NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Prokopiev. Image Credits: NASA/B. Ingalls.
Returning in the same Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft that flew them to the International Space Station on 6 June 2018, the trio landed in the Kazakh steppe on 20 December at 05:02 GMT (06:02 CET).
Soyuz MS-09 during spacewalk
Alexander’s return to Earth marks the successful conclusion of his Horizons mission – a mission in which he performed over 60 European experiments in space, became the second ever European commander of the International Space Station, welcomed six resupply vehicles, installed the first commercial facility for research in the Columbus laboratory, delivered an important message on climate change for leaders at the COP24 climate change conference and captured real-time footage of a Soyuz launch abort.
Overview of an overview
A number of scientific experiments also returned to Earth alongside the crew in the Soyuz. One of these, known as Dosis 3D, provides greater insight into the dose and distribution of radiation on board the Station. It is just one of many experiments that will deliver benefits for Earth as well as human and robotic exploration as Europe prepares for future missions to the Moon and beyond.
Alexander with Spheres experiment
Alexander has now spent a total of 363 full non-consecutive days living and working on board the International Space Station, and joined international partners on 20 November in celebrating 20 years of collaboration on the greatest international project of all time.
Horizons mission time-lapse - highlights
Media are invited to Alexander’s first public appearance after his Horizons mission at EAC on Saturday, 22 December. He will be joined for this one-hour event by ESA Director General Jan Wörner and Head of EAC Frank De Winne, who will be available to answer questions after providing short statements. Further info can be found here: http://www.esa.int/For_Media/Press_Releases/Call_for_Media_End_of_mission_and_return_of_ESA_astronaut_Alexander_Gerst
Related links:
German Aerospace Center DLR: http://www.dlr.de/dlr/de/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10002/
International Space Station (ISS): http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/International_Space_Station
Where is the International Space Station?: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/International_Space_Station/Where_is_the_International_Space_Station
Horizons brochure: http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/HRE/Horizons_brochure_ENG.pdf
Images, Video, Text, Credits: ESA/NASA/B. Ingalls.
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