Korean Astronaut to Return to Earth

Korea’s first astronaut Yi So-yeon returns to earth after the 12-day stay in space.

The Education, Science and Technology Ministry and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute announced Friday that Yi will land on the grassland in the northern part of Kazakhstan at 5:30:45 p.m. Saturday (Korean Time).

“Yi will move from the International Space Station to the Soyuz spacecraft and launch her trip back to earth at 2:03 p.m.,” explained an institute official. In a conversation with teenage students gathered at the National Science Museum in Daejeon on Friday, Yi said, “It’s time for me to return home, so I’ve packed up my photos and other stuffs.”

Though it took two days for Yi to get to the ISS from earth, the return trip will only take three hours and 27 minutes.

Right after landing, she will have a press conference and then move to the cosmonauts’ hospital in Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Moscow, for a medical checkup. Yi will return to Korea on April 28.

kunta@donga.com