A little while ago, cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov and astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft, which landed in Kazakhstan. Shkaplerov spent nearly 6 months on the International Space Station, where he arrived on October 5, 2021, as part of Expedition 65. Dubrov and Vande Hei arrived on April 9, 2021, as part of Expedition 64 and completed a long-duration mission.

During the time spent on the International Space Station with Expedition 66, the three crew members carried out various routine maintenance activities and many scientific experiments. On October 30, 2021, the Russian Progress MS-18 cargo spacecraft arrived. On November 27, the Russian Prichal module was integrated into the Station. On November 25, the Russian Progress MS-17 cargo spacecraft departed the Station to disintegrate into the Earth’s atmosphere. On February 14, 2022, the Russian Progress MS-19 cargo spacecraft arrived.

Four spacewalks were conducted during the Expedition 66 period. The one conducted on December 2, 2021, involved other Expedition 66 astronauts, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron, who took about six and a half hours to replace an antenna and do some other work. On January 19, 2022, Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov took just over seven hours to integrate the Prichal module systems into the Station. On March 15, Kayla Barron and Raja Chari took nearly seven hours to complete some tasks necessary to install new solar panels. On March 23, Raja Chari and Matthias Maurer conducted further tasks in preparation for that installation.

On Tuesday, March 29, Anton Shkaplerov officially handed over the command of the International Space Station to the American astronaut Tom Marshburn, marking the start of Expedition 67. On that occasion, Shkaplerov mentioned problems on Earth pointing out that in orbit they are one crew.

Despite some statements by the Russian space agency Roscosmos administrator Dmitry Rogozin, astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on the Soyuz MS-19, as planned. Anton Shkaplerov’s words indicate that the International Space Station is still a kind of oasis where crew members work together regardless of their nationality. They should be an example for everyone!