Soyuz MS-13 crew returns to Earth after record-breaking mission
/NASA astronaut Christina Koch, along with European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Skvortsov, returned to Earth after a record-breaking stay aboard the International Space Station.
The trio landed in their Soyuz MS-13 capsule on the frozen Kazakh Steppe in Kazakhstan at about 9:13 UTC Feb. 6, 2020. Conditions on the ground were clear with sub-zero temperatures and roughly a third of a meter of snow on the ground.
Koch, who was on her first spaceflight, returned after spending 328 days in orbit. She actually launched to the ISS aboard Soyuz MS-12 in March 2019. She took the spot of Drew Morgan, who remained aboard the space station, along with the two other members of Soyuz MS-15 — Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir — to form the first part of Expedition 62.
The Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft descends under its massive main parachute to the surface of the Kazakh Steppe. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
During her stay, she participated in six extravehicular activities totaling 42 hours, 15 minutes. These include the first three all-female spacewalks in October 2019 and January 2020.
According to NASA, her extended stay is expected to provide researchers with the opportunity to study the effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman as the agency prepares to return people to the moon as part of the Artemis program.
Overall, Koch orbited Earth some 5,248 times, traveling 139 million miles, which NASA says is equivalent to 291 trips to the Moon and back.
Parmitano and Skvortsov were in orbit for 201 days, orbiting Earth 3,216 times, traveling 85.2 million miles.
Parmitano completed his second trip to space — his first was in 2013 — to bring his cumulative time off the planet to 367 days, which NASA says is more than any other ESA astronaut. He was also the first Italian commander of the ISS, leading the Expedition 61 crew beginning in October.
As for spacewalks, Parmitano performed four, totaling 25 hours, 30 minutes. This brings his career total to six outings lasting a total of 33 hours, 9 minutes.
Skvortsov, meanwhile, completed his third long-duration spaceflight. His total time in space now stands at 546 days — 15th on the all-time spaceflight endurance list, according to NASA.
Soyuz MS-13 began its return to Earth after undocking from the station’s Poisk module at 5:50 UTC. After several hours of coasting away from the ISS, the spacecraft performed its deorbit burn at 8:18 UTC. This 4-minute, 39-second engine firing slow the spacecraft just enough to bring its orbit inside Earth’s atmosphere.
Christina Koch was the second to be extracted from the capsule. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
A few minutes before entry interface, the Soyuz spacecraft split into its three components — an orbital module, a descent module and a service module. Only the descent module with the crew aboard is designed to survive reentry.
Once slow enough, the Soyuz capsule deployed a series of parachutes, culminating in a massive main chute to slow the vehicle down to a few meters per second. Then, about a meter off the surface a brief burst of energy from the “soft landing” engines cushioned the final impact on the ground.
Russian search and rescue teams were at the spacecraft almost immediately. Within a few minutes, the capsule, which had landed upright, was opened and the crew extracted.
First out was Skvortsov. Second was Koch. Finally, Parmitano was extracted. Each were taken to nearby couches to rest and have initial medical checks performed.
Two native Kazakh residents watch the recovery effort on horseback. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Nearby, two local native Kazakh residents were watching on horseback.
With their mission over, the trio was flown by helicopter to nearby Karaganda, Kazakhstan. From there, Skvortsov was flown by jet to Star City, Russia, while Koch and Parmitano were flown to Cologne, Germany.
Parmitano will disembark at Cologne, and Koch will continue her journey back to Houston.
According to NASA:
“The Expedition 61 crew contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences and technology development, including improvements to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer in an effort to extend its life and support its mission of looking for evidence of dark matter and testing 3D biological printers to print organ-like tissues in microgravity.”
The current crew aboard the ISS — Morgan, Meir and Skripochka — are expected to be joined by the crew of Soyuz MS-16 when it launches on April 9. That crew will consist of NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin.
There are currently only two spacecraft docked to the ISS right now — Soyuz MS-15 and Progress MS-13. That will change as early as next week when a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship launches from Wallops Island, Virginia, with thousands of kilograms of supplies bound for the outpost.
NG-13 Cygnus is slated to launch atop an Antares rocket at 10:39 UTC Feb. 9. It will arrive at the ISS several days later on Feb. 11.
