Three astronauts return safely to Earth in punctured spacecraft

The Russian-made Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft carrying three astronauts landed in a vast snow-covered area in Kazakhstan, located about 140km southeast of the city of Dzhezkazgan on December 20.

Volunteers take care of astronauts upon their return. Photo: AFP

The team of astronauts includes Serena Aunon-Chancellor from NASA, Sergey Prokopyev from the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Alexander Gerst from the European Space Agency - who worked on the ISS for 197 days, serving on Expeditions 56 and 57.

The return trip of the three astronauts was required when last August, in space, they discovered a hole with a diameter of 2mm in the upper part of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft, causing the air pressure inside to gradually decrease.

Scientists believe the cause may have been a collision between the Soyuz MS-09 and a super meteorite. However, a team of experts from the Russian Space Agency do not rule out the possibility that this hole was intentionally drilled by someone.

"This could be a manufacturing error, but it could also be a deliberate act," Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, told the media and said he would join the investigation when the spacecraft returned to Earth.

If this flaw had not been detected, the astronauts would have run out of oxygen within 18 days.

Luckily it was discovered. The astronauts then fixed it in a "field" style and immediately returned. Fortunately the journey was safe.

NASA said the astronauts traveled 3,152 times around the Earth, covering over 134 million kilometers, and conducted over 300 scientific experiments during their half-year of operation.

Hole appeared on Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft. Photo: NASA

Image of the spacecraft carrying astronauts just landed on the ground. Photo: Reuters

People welcomed and held a small party to celebrate the astronauts. Photo: Reuters

Trong Nhan