Cosmonauts of Roskosmos completed training on “survival” in forest

In February 2021, winter survival training was organized for two conventional crews. The first included Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub and instructor of the Cosmonaut Training Center Dmitry Zakotenko, the second – Roscosmos cosmonauts Denis Matveev, Andrey Fedyaev and Anna Kikina.

Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub practiced their skills according to an abbreviated program. Together with the instructor, they spent 9 hours in the forest – this is the duration of the crediting training for their crew. The cosmonauts had enough time to successfully complete the actions necessary to survive in the winter in a wooded and swampy area. And although Nikolai Chub has not yet been in space, he gained the experience of “winter survival” on repeated previous trainings. If he and Oleg Kononenko had a break between tests in the forest for five years or more, this crew would have spent at least two days in natural conditions.

“Scientific research has helped us establish that some of the skills that astronauts may need when landing on a descent vehicle in such an area are gradually being lost. At least once every five years, they need to be restored in full,” the deputy chief explained Directorate for extreme types of cosmonaut training Victor Ren.

According to Viktor Ren, such trainings have another purpose – to test cosmonauts for psychological compatibility.

“We are trying to unite people of different characters. From training to training we change the composition of the crews. Ideally, the astronaut should try on the roles of the leader and the follower, that is, be able to both lead and obey. This is a very important moment in training a crew and a kind of an experiment, a psychological problem that we are solving “, – said Victor Ren.

If the first conventional crew “survived” in the daytime, when the air “warmed up” to minus 12 degrees, then the second crew (Denis Matveev, Andrey Fedyaev, Anna Kikina) had two days in the forest, and frosts these days stood stronger.

“The temperature at night reached 25 degrees below zero, but it was dry. You can sit by the fire in the open air and not be afraid that it will rain,” Andrey Fedyaev shared his impressions.

“I felt discomfort at night, but we coped. It is much better than performing the same tasks at above-zero temperatures in winter, as it was at the stage of general space training,” Anna Kikina supported her colleague. “Then it was raining and there was water all around, but now frost is great! “

/Media reports.