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Soyuz MS-17 crew on their participation in the 64th expedition

Today, on April 19, 2021, Roscosmos, the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center and TASS news agency hosted an online post-flight press conference with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, who returned from the space expedition on April 17, 2021. The ISS-64 crew also included NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins, and spent 185 days in orbit.

After returning to Earth, the Russian cosmonauts went from Kazakhstan to Star City and their American crewmate left for Houston, US. The crew is to undergo post-flight rehabilitation, which involves various studies and experiments like work on the International Space Station.

‘We are already able to get around on our own and ready to continue participating in research,’ said the commander of the ISS-64 crew, Sergey Ryzhikov, answering a question about his health. ‘In general, it takes from several days to several weeks to return to earthly life. A full-fledged work process with special training for cosmonauts is allowed no earlier than six months after the expedition, and the next flight is possible only after 2-2.5 years.’

Sergey Ryzhikov has been in space twice, while Sergey Kud-Sverchkov returned from his first expedition. He served as the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft and ISS-64 flight engineer.

‘My expectations completely coincided with the reality. When I got to the station, there was no sense of surprise or novelty. I knew in advance how everything looks and functions. Thanks to the GCTC specialists, I was prepared to start work from the very first day at the ISS. And I am very thankful to them for this,’ said Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.

During the press conference, the cosmonauts answered questions about the most interesting experiments they managed to carry out, the celebration of Cosmonautics Day in orbit, the state of the ISS, and international cooperation. The questions came from journalists and social media users. They were interested in whether it is necessary to ask permission when moving to a foreign segment of the ISS, what is the fate of the weightlessness indicator - knitted astronaut Yuri, and touched upon a number of other topics.