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TASS' first-ever reporter-cosmonaut, Japanese tourists to return to Earth on December 20

The launch of the Soyuz MS-20 manned spacecraft with two space tourists to the International Space Station is scheduled for December 8, 2021

MOSCOW, December 1. /TASS/. The crew of the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft made up of cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin as TASS’ first-ever special reporter in space, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his business assistant Yozo Hirano will return to Earth on the morning of December 20, Roscosmos told TASS on Wednesday.

"The undocking with the ISS is scheduled for 02:53 Moscow time, the engines will be activated from 05:24 to 05:28 and the landing is expected at 06:18 in the Kazakh steppe," the press office said.

The launch of the Soyuz MS-20 manned spacecraft with two space tourists to the International Space Station is scheduled for December 8, 2021. The space travelers will spend 12 days in orbit. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin will be the commander of the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft.

On November 17, Russia’s world-renowned TASS news agency and the State Space Corporation Roscosmos signed a memorandum of cooperation, which stipulates establishing a TASS news office aboard the ISS. Under the agreement, Roscosmos cosmonaut, Hero of Russia Alexander Misurkin will be the first TASS correspondent in space. He will report on the space station’s daily routine. His reports will be available to the agency’s readership from TASS news resources and his photo and video contributions will be uploaded to the agency’s website and official pages on social media.