Oleg Novitsky, Klim Shipenko and Yulia Peresild Recount Expedition to ISS

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, film director Klim Shipenko and actress Yulia Peresild returned to Earth on October 17, 2021 on the “Yu.A. Gagarin” (Soyuz MS-18). Now they are undergoing post-flight rehabilitation at the Cosmonaut Training Center, where one of the sites for an online press conference was organized.

Recall that Oleg Novitsky worked on board the International Space Station for 191 days. He went on a space expedition on April 9, 2021, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei. Klim Shipenko and Yulia Peresild were delivered to the station by Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. Together with the film crew, he launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on October 5, 2021 on the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft.

For 12 days, the ISS filmed the feature film “Challenge” with the participation of all Russian cosmonauts who were in orbit at that moment. The crew’s mission ended, and they returned with Oleg Novitsky. Anton Shkaplerov stayed on the ISS and continued his work as part of the 66th long-term expedition.

The press conference began with a question about the well-being of the cosmonaut and the flight participants. Yulia Peresild called her condition vigorous enough, although 12 days were enough to break the habit of walking. Klim Shipenko confirmed that after landing they were shaken and skidded, and now there is almost nothing left of these phenomena. Oleg Novitsky said that he was feeling well. According to him, the more often you are in space, the easier it is to adapt on Earth.

Most of the questions from the media related to the film “Challenge”. The director Klim Shipenko said that much of what he managed to shoot in space could not even be imagined on Earth: how the lighting changes, what kind of mise-en-scene can develop in a space where there is no concept of floor and ceiling.

“I made a cinematic discovery for myself, realizing that the action can unfold as if in different planes, for example, when one of the characters is talking to the other, being upside down,” explained Klim Shipenko. “I had a very good camera with me, I tried to shoot everything possible for the future so that the intrusion of computer graphics into the film was minimal. The ISS managed to shoot about 30 hours of video, of which about 25-30 minutes will be included in the final version of the film “Challenge”. Our work will be assessed by the viewer, but we did everything we could.”

Yulia Peresild thanked the cosmonauts who gave them full support during filming on the ISS, donating their personal time. Recall that Oleg Novitsky, Anton Shkaplerov and Petr Dubrov not only performed their direct duties, but also acted in films. Even at the station, they continued to work on roles, rehearsed and did not refuse to do takes during filming.

“We were lucky with our commanders. We started with Anton Shkaplerov and felt calm. When returning to Earth, there was not a single cause for excitement. Oleg Novitsky warned in advance about each of the stages of the descent,” said Yulia Peresild. “For me, the biggest discovery is the people who prepared us for the flight and worked with us on the ISS. People are real space. “

When asked whether the Challenge project can be considered the beginning of the next space race, cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky answered negatively.

“I wouldn’t call it a space race. We did our job. It was a pleasure to take part in the filming and help the guys to successfully cope with the tasks of the ‘Challenge’ project. To be honest, I initially had a prejudiced attitude towards the presence of the actress and director on the ISS, who will be filming the movie. But Julia and Klim arrived at the station well prepared, did not create any problems. It was very comfortable with them, ” said Oleg Novitsky.

What advice from the doctor helped Julia Peresild to quickly adapt to work in orbit, how long did it take for the space flight participants to sleep when the film “Challenge” premiered? Answers to these and other questions in the full version of the post-flight press conference organized by TASS agency in cooperation with Roskosmos, Channel One and the Cosmonaut Training Center.