Tim Peake’s Spacecraft Lands in Cardiff

• The national tour of Tim Peake’s Spacecraft, Soyuz TMA-19M, presented by Samsung and the Science Museum Group, will be at National Museum Cardiff from 15th November 2018 – 10th February 2019.

• Visitors can relive the descent from the International Space Station through Space Descent VR, powered by Samsung Gear VR technology.

Cardiff, UK – 15 November 2018 – On Thursday 15^th November the spacecraft which transported Tim Peake, the UK’s first European Space Agency astronaut, to and from the International Space Station, lands at National Museum Cardiff.

As part of a national tour presented by Samsung and the Science Museum Group the Soyuz TMA-19M capsule, complete with equipped interior and char marks on its outer body from its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, will be displayed along with its 25m diameter parachute. As Samsung UK’s flagship CSR programme, the aim of this partnership is to inspire millions of people across the UK by bringing to life the wonder of space travel, sparking a curiosity in life-long learning.

The display of the iconic craft will be accompanied by Space Descent VR, a unique virtual reality adventure using Samsung Gear VR technology. Narrated by Tim Peake himself, Space Descent VR recreates the experience of making the incredible 250-mile journey back down to Earth from the International Space Station inside a Soyuz capsule.

A programme of activities supported by Samsung and the Science Museum Group dedicated to Tim Peake’s Principia mission, will run throughout the exhibition with a special space themed family fun day on 17^th November and a star themed Christmas event on 15^th & 16^th December.

The tour will be accompanied by a joint Samsung and Science Museum Group outreach programme to engage young people in schools with potential futures in STEM subjects. Over the next coming months’ schools and city locations in the Greater Cardiff area will be visited by the ‘Space Descent with Tim Peake VR experience tour bus’, designed to look like the ISS. Students will undergo a space training programme and have the opportunity to experience Space Descent VR, inspiring a new generation of budding space explorers. This is part of a greater outreach programme, supported by Samsung, which also includes a school visit to the National Museum Cardiff to see the Soyuz capsule as well as visit from the Science Museum Group’s Learning Team who deliver the interactive ‘Rocket Show’

Tim Peake aboard the Space Descent VR Experience Tour Bus

Kate Beaumont, Director of Product, Services & Commercial Strategy IM Division, Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland, said: “Samsung believes technology has the power to spark curiosity and truly enable life-long learning, and we know that space travel captures the nation’s imagination. As a business, we thrive on innovation and change and; for that we need increasingly diverse talent. We hope by creating experiences such as Space Descent using our Gear VR technology and bringing it closer to schools and communities across the UK, we can inspire more young people to engage with vital STEM subjects.”

David Anderson, Director General of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales said: “We are very excited about bringing the Soyuz TMA-19M capsule to Cardiff and Wales. The Soyuz capsule represents one of history’s most incredible technological feats, and this is an unmissable opportunity for visitors young and old to see the craft that took Tim Peake all the way to the Space Station and back.”

Director of the Science Museum Group, Ian Blatchford said: “It is rare to see the star objects in Britain’s great museum collections touring the length and breadth of the country. I am so pleased with the success of the Soyuz tour to date and I am thrilled that people will have the opportunity to see this extraordinary artefact of recent space history on display at the National Museum Cardiff.”

Commenting on the acquisition, ESA astronaut Tim Peake said: “You do become very attached to your spacecraft because it definitely does save your life. I’m absolutely delighted that my Soyuz spacecraft, the TMA-19M, is going to be returning here to the UK and may serve, hopefully, as inspiration for our next generation of scientists and engineers.”

For more info on the Soyuz National Tour, visit http://samsung.com/uk/spacedescent/

Tim Peake reliving his descent back to space with the Samsung Gear VR headset