'The Challenge': Russian Space Agency chief calls space trip ‘a solid five’

On Sunday, Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of Russian Space Agency - Roscosmos, stated that the space mission of "The Challenge" film crew was successful. "We are relieved that the crew landed safely. They all are fine, happy, and satisfied with the trip. Everything is fantastic, a solid five," he said as reported by news agency Sputnik citing Channel One Russia. The Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft brought back the Russian film crew, comprising director Klim Shipenko, actor Yulia Peresild and cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy on Sunday morning. While the film crew spent 12 days aboard International Space Station (ISS), Novitskiy spent as many as 191 days in space on his third mission, reported the Associated Press (AP). 

After the landing, Persild stated that she is feeling so sad that their space trip ended so quickly. "Our landing was great today without a hitch. Oleg is fantastic and it is not frightening to fly with him. I am feeling a little sad today because 12 days seemed like a long time to us in the beginning, but it was difficult to say goodbye when everything came to an end. After all, it was undeniably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she was quoted as saying by the TV channel.

The Challenge - the first professional feature film shot in space

After ensuring the crew and cosmonaut's medical stability, Russian helicopters fetched them from a city near Karaganda in Kazakhstan. Thereafter, they boarded a Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center aircraft for a safe return to their training base in Star City, Russia, according to NASA. Peresild and Shipenko are set to go through a 10-day rehabilitation procedure to help them acclimate to Earth's atmosphere. On October 5, a film crew arrived at the International Space Station to shoot The Challenge, the first professional feature film shot in space. Peresild was picked from over 3,000 candidates to be the first actress to fly into space.

It should be mentioned here that their voyage to space to shoot The Challenge was made possible by a commercial deal between Roscosmos and media companies in Moscow, reported NASA. The crew took off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, aboard a Russian Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov who is a veteran of three space flights. Russian director Shipenko, shot key scenes during the trip, in which Peresild plays a cardiac surgeon who went to the International Space Station to save an astronaut. Notably, Russia has become the first country to launch members of the film industry into space. 

(Image: AP)