Beautiful Science

This image shows the Soyuz MS-06 capsule, carrying the crew of American astronauts Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei as well as Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, descending just before landing in a remote area outside the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhst
PHOTO: REUTERS

This image shows the Soyuz MS-06 capsule, carrying the crew of American astronauts Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei as well as Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, descending just before landing in a remote area outside the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Feb 28. The trio returned to Earth from the International Space Station after months of time in low orbit, carrying out research and spacewalks. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), highlights from the trip included measuring the Sun's energy input to Earth and investigating the manufacturing of fibre optic filaments in microgravity - the very weak gravity one would experience on a spacecraft orbiting Earth. Mr Misurkin, together with fellow cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, set a record for the longest spacewalk in Russian space programme history, at eight hours and 13 minutes, when the pair went to replace an electronics box.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 08, 2018, with the headline Beautiful Science. Subscribe