On this day (18 June 2018) 2 years ago in 2016 – Tim Peake returned to Earth with cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko & NASA astronaut Tim Kopra after his 6 month Principia mission!
He described the journey back as “the best ride I’ve been on ever”, adding: “The smells of Earth are just so strong”.
Photo Source – (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Children have been inspired by his Principia Mission – in a way that they may not have been interested in space especially from a scientific or mathematical point of view, but have been drawn in through a number of different ways, such as competitions, challenges and experiments!
Principia was the eighth long duration mission for an ESA astronaut and was named after Isaac Newton’s ground-breaking text on physics, Principia Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis, describing the principal laws of motion and gravity physics.
Education and inspiring youngsters was a core element of the Principia mission. Tim was determined to make Principia an exciting adventure for the younger generation. As an ambassador for science and space based careers, he had an intensive programme to inspire children during his stay in space.