Liftoff was on 17 November 2016 from Baikonour with record-holding @NASA_Astronauts extraordinaire @astroPeggy and Oleg, the @roscosmos commander of our Soyuz MS-03 🚀
A 48 hour trip to the International @Space_Station followed – orbital manoeuvres and the first feeling of weightlessness
Life on board got off to a flying start trying to get to grip with my new home in space – as well as maintaining the toilet as our first job! 🚽
The work up there is mainly running experiments that exploit the unique weightless environment… even though some @ISS_Research requires we don't move much during experiments!🕷️
The ultimate astronaut experience: a #spacewalk or EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity) to maintain or upgrade the @Space_Station – I was lucky enough to do two!
@astro_kimbrough (wearing red stripes) was the perfect #spacewalk leader for my first sortie👋
The second #Proxima #spacewalk was spent applying grease to the end of the @csa_asc 🇨🇦 #Canadarm – balancing on a small platform wasn't always easy !!
Needless to say when I was back in the airlock I was happy that everything had gone well! media.giphy.com/media/26xBCHLm…
It took a few takes to film this #mannequinchallenge with the whole crew, much respect to people who make daily videos like this on Earth 😅
Amongst many experiments, this particularly photogenic test used robotic spheres to model satellite tugs that could clean space debris in Earth orbit
Two hours of exercise a day in space is obligatory to compensate for muscle and bones wasting away in weightlessness🐹🏃 #fitnesslife
International cooperation: work on the @Space_Station is done in the US 🇺🇸 , Russian 🇷🇺 and @esa modules but also in @JAXA_en's Japanese laboratory 🇯🇵 and its external deployment platform… #TexAverystyle
… the deployment platform allowed us to launch 36 #cubesats into Earth orbit! 🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️
Some great memories of intercultural dinners – here with the members of #Exp50 cc @AstroPeggy @astro_kimbrough
Spacecraft berthing operations in Cupola 🕶️ to capture a @northropgrumman #Cygnus – with @AstroPeggy
The Cupola is also the best place to watch Earth roll by after a day of work🤩
With 16 sunrises a day in orbit, we got to see Earth in all its splendor: 1482 photos and videos published! 📷
Running scientific @ISS_Research…
...more sport... 🚴#bicycle
But first, and foremost: scientific research ! @ISS_Research
Last photo opportunity with the whole #Exp51 crew before our return to Earth
A soft landing (not really) – on the steppes of Kazakhstan with Oleg piloting – we even managed to avoid the puddle of water with our #Soyuz
The End… returning in 2021 !
PS : the 2 hours of exercise are hardly enough to counteract the loss of muscles… ! 😅
But I would go back without a moment's hesitation!
