The Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Pontes, was acclaimed this Thursday, April 20, with the National Order of Merit (Brazil’s most important medal), conferred by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Pontes received a great round of applause from Federal District public school students who attended the ceremony.
After reaffirming that the mission was a complete success in all respects, Pontes emphasized the importance of the experiments he conducted during the mission.
"All of them were extremely important, not just for the results but for their future impact."
The minister of Science and Technology, Sérgio Resende, pointed out that Pontes’ space trip placed Brazil among the 15 countries that have a complete space program.
Pontes returned to Brazil with a schedule full of commitments. Until next Tuesday, April 25, when he willl return to Moscow, he will attend various events and receive various homages.
Pontes spent the first week of April in space.
ABr
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What a joke
I’ve not chuckled so much in all my life as I had watching this buffoon get into space. He’s little more than a space tourist ”“ full stop. He couldn’t cut it with NASA, so he joined the ranks of N Sync kiddy-singer Lance Bass in seeking out the ruskies for his shot at the stars — but let the Brazilian government foot the bill. In all interviews leading up to his launch, he boasted how he was bringing the Brazilian Flag, a futebol, and more Nationalistic trite ”“ like most brain-dead Brazilians on their first jaunt outside of “sambalandia”.
No mention of bringing Brazilian scientific research or bringing experiments created by university students. No mention of how his flight would be for the betterment of mankind, science and the future of space travel. Just your usual, “Brazil has finally joined the first world raw raw raw bullshit”. What a joke. Simply more Brazilian “oh look at us are we great hyperbole” funded by Lula, the cassado et.al in a run up year to the elections. I can se Lula campaigning now, “we´re the greatest in futebol (world cup year and all) and now we have had the first Brazilian in space, Brazil is truly the land of opportunity”. Puullleeessseeee.
Just one question: has Brazil managed to fill the 12 vacant space scientist positions caused by the last attempted rocket launch in Brazil? I didn’t think so.