TORONTO – Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield will finally unzip his space suit and touch ground on Monday night after five months aboard the International Space Station.
The venture back to Earth won’t exactly be an easy one for Canada’s first ever commander of the ISS and his colleagues, said the Canadian Space Agency.
“There’s a 16-hour schedule for them and they get 8 hours to rest for the most part,” said CSA’s Major Jeremy Hansen who is part of Hadfield’s ground crew. “There’s meal preparation, hygiene time, two hours of exercise, maintenance and science experiments.”
According to Hansen, space is kind of like camp, even down to the toilets.
“Lots of astronauts come back and say it’s kind of like camping,” he said. “The fact is it takes a bit longer to do everything up in space. A toilet in space takes longer to operate, power up and use. You have to be more careful in micro-gravity so you don’t make a mess. That’s also the same thing for meal preparation and everything else.”
According to the CSA, restroom stops aside, this is how Hadfield’s journey back to Earth (and later back to Canada) will unfold:
7:08 EDT: Hadfield and fellow astronauts Roman Romanenko and Tom Marshburn will undock from the space station where they’ve lived for the last 146 days. They will board the Russian Soyuz capsule that will send them earthward.
10:31: Hadfield and his team will arrive in eastern Kazakhstan, and change out of their space suits. When they touch down, Russian officials, CSA, NASA and health physicians will locate the spacecraft and greet the team.
“Physicians will be there to evaluate and assess their immediate needs and physical conditions,” the CSA told Global News.
READ MORE: The best of Chris Hadfield
Whether Hadfield, Marshburn and Romanenko will be able to adjust back to gravity seamlessly and walk on their own depends on the individual, said the CSA.
“Each astronaut has their own individual experience,” said Hansen. “The craft has good equipment and so their bones are strong and they’re strong—but some will still have nausea problems or problems with balance. We’ll have to see when they’re back.”
Each of the astronauts will then separately be flown in helicopters to a Kazakhstan airbase, assuming their health checkups go well.
At the airbase is where the men will be greeted with a Kazakhstani traditional ceremony.
Tuesday: Hadfield and Marshburn are scheduled to arrive in Houston, Texas via a NASA jet. “In Houston they will go through a whole set of medical exams,” said the CSA. “And they will stay for at least a minimum of 45 days.”
Hadfield will be debriefed and then sent on his way back to Canada.
Hadfield won’t greet the public until officials have declared him ready and healthy, said the CSA.
Thursday: A tentative news conference is scheduled. The time will depend on how Hadfield is doing, said the CSA.
“Right now, Chris is done in the space station and heading to a vehicle to get back home,” said Hansen. “I don’t know what time the conference is at yet—but, right now we’re just focusing on getting him back on the planet.”
Until the conference is announced, the CSA and Canadians back home are just excited for Hadfield’s arrival.
“I’m a little sad to see him prepare to leave the space station right now,” said Hansen.
“There’s lots of excitement and Canada is very proud of what Chris has accomplished on our behalf. He’s brought back a new perspective on space.”
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