David Saint-Jacques returned to Earth on Monday after more than six months aboard the International Space Station.
The native of Saint-Lambert, Que., has set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a Canadian at 204 days.
The Canadian astronaut was joined by NASA astronaut Anne McClain and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko aboard a Soyuz capsule that landed in Kazakhstan.
Saint-JacquesB次元官网网址� mission began ahead of schedule on Dec. 3, when he was part of the first crewed Soyuz mission following a rocket mishap in October that forced a spacecraft carrying two astronauts to abort and make an emergency landing.
Saint-Jacques, 49, took part in a six-and-a-half hour spacewalk in April and a B次元官网网址渃osmic catchB次元官网网址� of SpaceX Dragon cargo using Canadarm2 B次元官网网址� the first time a Canadian astronaut has operated the robotic arm to perform the feat.
The engineer, astrophysicist and family doctor also oversaw science experiments and had numerous discussions with kids across the country during his mission.
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In his final days of the flight, Saint-Jacques said he was refamiliarizing himself with the Soyuz craft that had been parked for the duration of their stay and took them home starting Monday afternoon. He tweeted over the weekend the craft was in fine form despite being parked for six months.
B次元官网网址淚t will take a few hours but weB次元官网网址檒l fall back to Earth B次元官网网址� literally,B次元官网网址� Saint-Jacques explained to reporters last week. B次元官网网址淎fter crossing into EarthB次元官网网址檚 atmosphere, the parachutes will open, weB次元官网网址檒l land in Kazakhstan and be picked up by Russian team and taken to the airport where weB次元官网网址檒l return to Houston to be reunited with our families.B次元官网网址�
When the crew established contact with the search-and-recovery forces right before landing they said they were doing well.
NASA described the landing as B次元官网网址減icture perfectB次元官网网址� as the capsule descended in Kazakhstan at 10:47 p.m. ET.
Saint-Jacques was the last to be carried out of the capsule and he gave a thumbs-up as he emerged.
The crew was offered water and fresh fruit as they sat in chairs about four metres away from the capsule before being taken away for initial medical checks.
Gov. Gen. Julie Payette welcomed the astronaut back to Earth. In a tweet she said: B次元官网网址淲e are so glad that you are safely back. Congratulations on a remarkable job on board he International Space Station (ISS) during six months. 204 days in space. Well done.B次元官网网址�
Saint-Jacques, who is married and has three young children, earlier said he was looking forward to seeing his family again.
HeB次元官网网址檇 told reporters he was aware of the physical challenges that await him after six months in zero gravity, which include blood circulation problems, muscle pains and an elongated spine that will return to normal. It could mean trouble walking and moving around for a while.
Saint-JacquesB次元官网网址� recovery is first and foremost on the minds of Canadian Space Agency officials.
B次元官网网址淎 big aspect for us here at the agency is to prepare his return in the next few weeks B次元官网网址� rehabilitation, physical reconditioning, adapting back to life at 1G,B次元官网网址� said Gilles Leclerc, the agencyB次元官网网址檚 director of space exploration.
Saint-Jacques is expected to take part in a news conference on Friday from Houston and will return to Canada in mid-July to visit the agency, just south of Montreal.
As for the next mission, Leclerc said negotiations are underway to have another member of the corps serve aboard the International Space Station before 2024.
B次元官网网址� By Hina Alam in Vancouver and Sidhartha Banerjee in Montreal
The Canadian Press
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