Phone call from space: Russian cosmonaut is back to the University of Porto

The online talk between the Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and Portuguese students will take place on 14th April and will be streamed via the FCUP's YouTube.

It’s been exactly two years that veteran spacefarer Kornienko attended the presentation of the "Sputnik-1", a project of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, on 12th April 2019, which also marks the International Day of manned space flight, as well as the anniversary of the first mission by the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, on board the "Vostok 1", on 12 April 1961.

This time, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, one of the human beings to have spent the longest continuous amount of time living and working in space, is “back” to our country for a “long-distance call” with Portuguese students; the day is set: 14th April, at 5.30 pm and all are invited through the Faculty of Sciences (FCUP) YouTube channel.

This event is organised by the FCUP, and the session gathers members of the FCUP, students from the Schools of S. Julião da Barra and the City Hall of Maia and Oeiras. The talk will be interpreted from Russian to Portuguese by the former cultural attaché of the Embassy of Russia, Vladmir Luzgin, personal friend to the cosmonaut. The session is moderated by Rui Moura, professor at FCUP, who recently applied to the European Space Agency.

Mikhail Borisovich Kornienko served as a flight engineer on the International Space Station during Expedition 23/24 and was selected along with the American Scott Kelly for a year-long mission aboard the ISS.

In November 2012, NASA, the Roscosmos (Russian Federal Space Agency) and their international partners selected two veteran spacefarers, Kelly and Kornienko, respectively for a one-year mission aboard the International Space Station in 2015. Kornienko began the year long mission in March 2015, blasting off on Soyuz TMA-16M.

On 11th April 2019, the veteran cosmonaut and flight engineer was welcomed by Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira at Porto City Hall, taking into consideration the excellent nature of the diplomatic relations between the Russian Embassy in Portugal and the Municipality of Porto, namely the support that Porto City Hall grants to Russian cultural projects.