Russian actress beats Cruise to be first on camera in space
A RUSSIAN actress who spent 12 days on the International Space Station has said she was “sad” to return to Earth after filming the first-ever movie in space.
Yulia Peresild, 37, described her trip as a “one-time experience”.
“It seemed that 12 days was a lot, but when it was all over, I didn’t want to leave,” she told Russian television.
She and director Klim Shipenko, 38, landed as scheduled on Kazakhstan’s steppe around 4am yesterday morning according to footage broadcast live by Russia’s Roscosmos space agency.
They were joined on their journey home on board the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft by cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy. Ms Peresild, who plays the film’s protagonist – a surgeon sent to space to save an astronaut suffering from a heart condition – was extracted from the capsule to applause and a bouquet of flowers. Mr Shipenko appeared distressed but smiled as he was carried off by medical workers for an examination.
Both will now be flown to Russia’s Star City to undergo a 10-day rehabilitation programme.
Russia has beaten a rival Hollywood project, starring Tom Cruise, to be the first to film in space.
◆ Astronauts travelling to Mars could suffer brain damage, according to Swedish research. Spending long periods in space encourages rogue proteins linked to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis. A study of five cosmonauts found levels increased after five and a half months on the ISS. It may be caused by weightlessness, scientists believe. A round trip to Mars would take 21 months.