Cosmonaut Skripochka conducts Mars landing experiment after returning from ISS
MOSCOW. April 22 (Interfax) - Cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, who returned from the International Space Station (ISS) on April 17, has proven during a ground experiment that he is capable of doing work on Mars after resting from his flight for four days, the Cosmonaut Training Center said in a statement.
"Oleg Skripochka, who returned from a 205-day spaceflight on April 17, 2020, took part in the Constellation experiment, which is aimed at assessing the performance of cosmonauts carrying out complex operation activities after a lengthy stay on the ISS using the specialized simulator Vykhod-2," the statement said.
In the course of the experiment, Skripochka performed operations associated with landing on the surface of a different planet, including opening the exit hatch, ascending and descending the stairs, and working with instruments.
"All tasks were carried out with good quality," Andrei Kuritsyn, head of the scientific department of the Cosmonaut Training Center, was quoted as saying in the statement.
Thus, Skripochka has proven that a cosmonaut can maintain the necessary level of fitness to work and carry out complex operations after a long flight.
"According to data received thanks to pre-flight studies involving cosmonauts, there is experimental evidence that cosmonauts are capable of doing hard work on a different planet involving physical pressure on the fourth day following a long flight in conditions close to standard," the statement said.
Skripochka is currently undergoing a post-flight medical examination and rehabilitation in Star City. He was aboard the ISS for 205 days. The Russian cosmonaut arrived at the station on September 25, 2019, in the company of NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and the first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates, Hazza Al Mansouri, who returned to Earth a week later.
The Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft's landing capsule carrying Russian cosmonaut Skripochka and U.S. astronauts Meir and Andrew Morgan successfully landed in Kazakhstan on April 17, 2020.