It’s just been fantastic, from start to finish … I’m just truly elated, just the smells of Earth are so strong, it’s wonderful to be back … to feel the fresh air.

Many people will be glad to be back after a trip away but it was very different for Tim Peake who is the first British astronaut to walk in space and the first European Space Agency astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS).  He said it felt wonderful to be back on Earth after six months in space then landing in Kazakhstan at the end of a seven-hour return journey from the ISS.  During his time there in 2016 he had orbited Earth almost 3000 times conducting about 250 experiments and beaming back science lessons to schools in Britain and enthusing many young people to think about a career in science or technology.

The Soyuz Descent Module with the 25 metre parachute (the size of two tennis courts) which had slowed down Tim Peake’s capsule on entry to Earth and his emergency spacesuit are on display in Manchester, before visiting other sites. There was an interesting short talk about the module and the other parts of the spacecraft and I was surprised to see how tiny it is and learn that its original colour was a pale green.  During Soyuz’s descent at 27000 km an hour through the atmosphere, temperatures outside reached more than 1,600C (2,910F) and badly scorched and charred the module, turning it dark blue.  It sounded a very dangerous journey, both when trying to link up with the ISS and returning to Earth as the angles, measurements and speed had to be very precise and a computer failure had caused some very anxious moments when trying to link to the ISS. But Tim Peake said that it was a truly exciting experience and he’d miss the fantastic views of Earth from space.
From the window of the ISS space looks like a beautiful and peaceful place.