All space fans have experienced a unique moment in the last few hours and, in reality, we are still living it, because it is difficult to forget. The Ax-3 mission, led by a Spanish astronaut, has returned to Earth in an operation that has been broadcast live and that you can now watch again in complete comfort.
This private mission of the Axiom Space company helps to continue marking a before and after when it comes to space exploration. The crew members, four astronauts who were overjoyed to return to the planet, spent 18 days abroad. During this period of time they have been working in the orbital laboratory, where they have surely carried out important research.
A historic mission
The most important aspect of the Ax-3 mission is that it is the first time that one of these characteristics has been carried out with a European crew. The four members of the mission were the Spanish Miguel Eladio López-Alegría, Marcus Wandt, Walter Villadei and Alper Gezeravci. They have traveled on the SpaceX company’s Dragon ship, which has carried out a return trip of almost 50 hours.
The return process has been exciting and has been followed minute by minute with so much emotion that it will surely inspire a future film in the HBO or Netflix space. The return trip began on the 7th, at which time they detached from the link they had at the International Space Station. The intention was, as has ended up happening, to land in the Atlantic, near the Florida region, in the United States.
Arrival on Earth step by step
The entire landing process progressed without incident. To this end, there was initially a delay in the return mission because the conditions in Florida were not suitable and there was some concern about what would happen when the capsule was going to fall into the water. At almost two o’clock in the afternoon in Spain, the ship was preparing to do the deorbit burn that would prepare the ship to enter the atmosphere. After that, they would only need about 30-35 minutes to fall into the water at a moment that has been widely celebrated for the ease and safety with which the recovery has been carried out.
When the capsule was at an altitude of 5,700 meters, the main parachute deployed. Then, when it was already at an altitude of 2,000 meters, four additional parachutes were deployed. At 2:30 p.m. it had already touched the water and the capsule recovery process was launched, after which the mandatory measures were activated before opening it and welcoming the four astronauts.
After leaving the capsule, the astronauts seemed happy and satisfied, excited about their return, posing for their first photos after having been off the planet for so many days. They are now prepared for the mandatory medical examination with the intention of then being taken to land by a helicopter so that they can recover after a long and somewhat complex journey. We must not forget that beyond wearing the particular and advanced astronaut suits, the members of this mission have had really limited space. The Dragon ship has a stylized shape to make its trips successful, but it leaves astronauts with less space than they could imagine.
However, it is a small price to pay to make history and bring scientific progress of great value to humanity. In space, these four astronauts have carried out research related to cancer, stem cells and other types of projects that are also of high importance. They did dozens of experiments in microgravity and even tested a robot dog that could be key to the exploration of planets like Mars. Likewise, they have also been responsible for exploring low Earth orbit, which will be key for future missions and in projects as ambitious as the future colonization of the Moon.
