Peek inside the tiny space capsule that shoots astronauts back to Earth

Peek inside the tiny space capsule that shoots astronauts back to Earth
(Image credit: ESA/NASA)

Decades of Hollywood movies have taught us that astronauts should expect certain accessories in their space capsules — captain's chairs and mazes of controls, for instance. But a peek inside the vessel that shot three astronauts back to the Earth's surface last week reveals just how cramped and spare space travel can get:

(ESA/NASA)

That's European astronaut Alexander Gerst, Russian cosmonaut Max Suraev and American astronaut Reid Wiseman testing out the sardine can that successfully shepherded the trio back from the International Space Station last week. But from the looks on the men's faces at the welcome home ceremony...

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

(S. Corvaja/ESA)

...maybe they prefer the tiny capsule.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Mike Barry

Mike Barry is the senior editor of audience development and outreach at TheWeek.com. He was previously a contributing editor at The Huffington Post. Prior to that, he was best known for interrupting a college chemistry class.