ASTRONAUT EXPLAINS WHAT IT IS LIKE RETURNING TO EARTH AFTER SPENDING 311 DAYS STRANDED IN SPACE

Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev is among the few who have experienced the sudden disappearance of their entire nation.

Krikalev departed Earth in 1991 on a routine mission to the Mir space station, which operated from 1986 to 2001.

The mission was supposed to last five months, but things took an extraordinary turn when Krikalev's world abruptly changed.

While he was in the space station, the Soviet Union fell apart, and Boris Yeltsin was elected the first president of the newly formed Russian state.

Not only did Krikalev no longer have a nation to return to, but the spaceport and landing strip he had planned to utilise were now situated in Kazakhstan, which had just gained its independence.

Due to the collapse, there was not enough money for Krikalev to be relieved of his duties on another mission and leaving would mean sacrificing the space station since no one would be available to maintain and repair it.

Following the incident, many on Earth were left wondering how Krikalev would get back to Earth. In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, he disclosed his thoughts on the matter.

"We were getting the news, not all at once, and it was a long process," he remarked. "For example, we heard about the referendum."

"We had everything we needed, and while I was working, my main concern was for our friends and family who were on the ground."

After agreements between the United States and Russia were reached to allow for more funding for missions, Krikalev's mission was extended, and he ultimately spent 311 days in space before returning to Earth in March 1992.Krikalev went on to say, "I think I felt satisfaction that I had done my job, and done it well," when asked how he felt about coming back to Earth. The second one was a sort of relief as I had held a huge responsibility for many months.”

Even though Krikalev's mission didn't exactly go as planned, it didn't stop him from going back to space in the years that followed.

The astronaut spent more than 800 days in total in space, including time spent on the space shuttle, Soyuz spacecraft, Mir space station, and International Space Station.

In a NASA interview, Krikalev reflected on his experiences and mentioned that being in space had allowed him to see a world without boundaries.

"You start to understand that in many cases, our separation on Earth is more artificial," he said. "We are living on the same surface. When you see a forest fire, you see that smoke is going sometimes for hundreds of kilometres. They cross all borders... You start to see that we are more united."