14 DAY TRIAL // After spending around 166 days in space, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Luca Parmitano returned to Earth at 02:49 GMT today, November 11. The spacecraft he shared with NASA astronauts Karen Nyberg and Russian Federal Space Agency (RosCosmos) Mission Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin successfully parachuted onto the wind-swept Kazakh steppe.
This was the same Russian-built Soyuz TMA-09 space capsule the Expedition 37 crew used when it launched into space, on May 29, 2013. Since then, Parmitano has become the first Italian astronaut ever to conduct a spacewalk, or extra-vehicular activity (EVA).
During his 5+-month stay on the International Space Station, Parmitano conducted two spacewalks, and assisted with conducting over 30 scientific experiments in a variety of fields. He was also one of the members in the team that guided the first Cygnus private resupply capsule to the station.
Before returning home to his native Italy, Parmitano will travel to Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and then to Houston, Texas, for quarantine and medical checkups.