Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa returns to Earth after 12-day stay aboard ISS

Billionaire and Japan’s first space tourist Yusaku Maezawa successfully completed his first-ever space trip to the International Space Station (ISS) as he landed in Kazakhstan on December 20. Accompanied by his assistant, Yozo Hirano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, Maezawa touched down in the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft at 8:43 am (IST), ending his 12-day stay at the ISS. With the completion of the trip, the Japanese businessman will be remembered as the first visitor to the space station in ten years. 

The Russian space agency Roscosmos informed that Maezawa and his team were evacuated from the spacecraft using ground transport instead of helicopters as the weather was unfavourable for a flight. 

Maezawa's stay aboard the ISS

During his 12-day stay at the space station, Maezawa kept his fans updated and entertained with multiple videos that he shot and uploaded on his YouTube channel. In the video, the 46-year-old addressed many topics including the criticisms around his space trip along with some amusing clips of him brushing his teeth and eating snacks in zero gravity. 

In his first video uploaded from space, the billionaire shared how it's like to look over the Earth from space and expressed his excitement for his upcoming days. Earlier, Maezawa had informed that he will also be conducting a few experiments with the ISS astronauts, details about which will likely be shared in the upcoming press conference. According to Roscosmos, it will conduct a press conference on December 22 at 5 pm (IST), which will be dedicated to the return of the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft. 

Meanwhile, the returning astronauts have been sent into rehabilitation which is expected to last between 14 to 21 days. Roscosmos said that during this period, the astronauts will be kept under supervision as they try to restore their normal physical form through exercises. 

Maezawa's journey ahead

The world is considering Maezawa's recently concluded trip as a practice for his launch to the Moon which is scheduled in 2023. The billionaire will blast off in a SpaceX rocket and he has already bought all the tickets for the flight, which will be conducted under the mission 'Dear Moon'. Interestingly, the billionaire is also looking for as many as eight fellow passengers who will accompany him in his forthcoming venture.  

(Image: Twitter/@Roscosmos)