Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011

He ain't heavy: Satoshi Furukawa is carried off for a medical check Tuesday morning after he and two fellow astronauts landed on a plain in Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, aboard a Soyuz re-entry capsule. KYODO

ARKALYK, Kazakhstan — A Soyuz space capsule carrying three astronauts, including Satoshi Furukawa from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, returned to Earth on Tuesday, descending onto a plain in Kazakhstan by parachute after the three completed a 5½-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

Furukawa, 47, spent 167 days and six hours aboard the ISS, setting a record for the longest stay on the station by a Japanese astronaut in a single voyage, surpassing 163 days by Soichi Noguchi and 137 days by Koichi Wakata.

Furukawa, alongside NASA astronaut Mike Fossum and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, returned to Earth using the TMA-02M system.

The final part of the journey was in a re-entry capsule that detached from the body of the Soyuz spacecraft during the descent. It landed on the Kazakhstan plain at 11:25 a.m. Japan time.

The landing on the snow-covered steppe was close to its target point. NASA spokesman Josh Byerly said the operation was swift despite the freezing weather and strong wind.

Video from the site showed the Soyuz capsule, blackened by the intense heat of re-entry, lying on its side as the astronauts were extracted.

The three men looked well and smiling. They were put down in chairs and wrapped in warm blankets to help them get adjusted to gravity after spending four months in space.

NASA's Dan Burbank and Russians Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin remain onboard the International Space Station and are due to return to Earth in March. They arrived at the station Wednesday. A launch next month will bring the station back to its normal six-member crew.

A former surgeon at University of Tokyo Hospital, Furukawa conducted a string of medical experiments, including on the establishment of a remote diagnosis system to enable ground control staff to monitor astronauts' physical conditions.

Furukawa frequently posted messages to his Twitter account detailing life aboard the ISS, including changes in his physical condition. He also encouraged children affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in a video conference session.

Prior to their departure, the trio underwent a checkup wearing a special space suit designed to make them feel as if they were already under the influence of Earth's gravity.

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