CANADIAN PRESS, CNET NEWS, THE STAR (Canada)
BAIKONUR – Canadian star astronaut Chris Hadfield landed safely back on earth early on Tuesday morning after a six-month expedition on the International Space Station (ISS) that brought the space age into the Internet era with unmatched aplomb.
He arrived at the Kazakh space base in a Russian Soyuz-TMA capsule with his NASA and RosCosmos counterparts, who he had been on board with since December 19 2012. Emerging from the capsule, the man who became an internet phenomenon and made space cool again gave a thumbs up, writes the Toronto Star daily.
Hadfield’s return marks the end of an era for the Canadian space program: it will now be at least three years before another Canadian visits the ISS, reports the Canadian Press. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said of the space star: “The tireless and unique efforts by Mr. Hadfield to educate Canada and the world about the final frontier … are nothing short of inspirational and have helped rekindle the dreams and excitement of becoming an astronaut.”
He has posted videos, photos, and tweeted, but much of what Commander Hadfield did in space didn’t make headlines — he worked on more than 130 experiments. From examining changes to bone density in zero gravity, and how magnetic particles can dampen vibrations, to nutrition, Hadfield is helping us understand space better, says CNET News.
Narrowing down the amazing photos to just 20 is no easy feat, but we gave it a go! Here are 20 of Chris “the coolest guy in space” Hadfield’s incredible photos.
All photos taken from Chris Hadfield’s Facebook Page
